About the Author

Michael Lewis was born in New Orleans and educated at Princeton University and the London School of Economics. He has written several books including the New York Times bestsellers Liar's Poker, widely considered the book that defined Wall Street during the 1980s, The Big Short, 'probably the single best piece of financial journalism ever written' (Reuters), the breakneck tour of Europe's post-crunch economy, Boomerang, and the bestselling expose of high-speed financial scams, Flash Boys. Lewis is contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and writes for Vanity Fair and Portfolio magazine.

Reviews

The crash of 1987. The Russian default. The Asian currency crisis. The Internet bubble. The subprime mortgage disaster. Let Lewis tell you why finance is so chaotic today. Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

Lewis (Liar's Poker) takes readers on a spin through notable recent financial catastrophes including the stock market's 1987 crash, the Russian default and related failure of hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management, the Asian currency crisis, the Internet bust and the recent subprime debacle. While the collection is comprehensive and contains varied and learned commentary, the presented crises beg for more thorough treatment. Lewis is content to rehash the past with (undeniably compelling) previously published analysis by the likes of economists Joseph Stieglitz and Paul Krugman and Wall Street Journal reporters Gregory Zuckerman and Roger Lowenstein. The author wisely includes excerpts from his books and articles, including an account of his time as a trader at Salomon Brothers in the midst of the junk bond crash of 1987 and his observations on the Internet boom and bust. The narrative is certainly elegant and the arguments are on-target; the author lambastes shoddy risk management at financial firms, the "foolish principles that have guided the behavior of sophisticated Wall Street traders" and the common man in this current crisis, and the problems caused "by the new complexities of the financial markets," but readers seeking serious solutions to our current woes will be disappointed. (Jan.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.