I should get a moleskine. Dec I heard suicides spike during the holidays. Whatever, plenty of scotch left. Dec No more scotch. Al Swanson. An excellent story excellently written.
Basically a series of conversations between a financial reporter and as evidenced by the title an anonymous hedge fund manager. From late through early , the two talked about the markets, the products and the financial system as a whole. They also discussed the talk surrounding those same subjects - which was almost as interesting. I started reading about the financial markets for two reasons: 1 I was, in a past incarnation, a stock broker and so have a previous interest, particularly in how things have changed and 2 I had believed that much of the market meltdown was due to our media telling us there was a market meltdown.
On the latter point, I was dead wrong. The book will give you insight into the products that nearly killed our financial system, the way fund managers at least this one think and how things are inter-related meaning how one thing dominoes into taking out everything else. Those two reasons are enough for just about anyone to read the book.
The entertainment value is just an extra. By itself, this book would not have answered all the questions I have about the meltdown, the people responsible and how it all happened. That said, should you just have a passing interest in the debacle or even an interest into hedge funds - I recommend this book.
Josh Paul. These interviews give a nice summary of the '08 financial crisis, along with its causes and consequences. Furthermore, they do so in a way that is approachable to people without much background in finance.
That said, the book isn't just a "crisis for dummies. All that being said, there is nothing particularly original here. I'd recommend the book to a liberal arts majors who want a competent introduction to finance and particularly the recent financial crisis - though be warned, this is not a comprehensive survey, and b people with an interest in finance who want a breezy and refresher on things they've heard a hundred times before.
Josh Friedlander. Surprisingly readable explanation of the economic forces that brought about the crisis: the wave of foreclosures, taxpayer-sponsored bailouts, and the return of almost all of the bankers involved to business as usual. The obviously partisan opinion of the eponymous HFM is that no-one was really to blame, and not much could have been done differently.
And the way he explains it - so calmly, patiently and phlegmatically - you just might end up agreeing with him. It was weird to me, though, how sympathetic this book was. As a sample, the closing quote: "That's the hedge fund manager I know and love. HFM is a clever reader of human nature, while the interviewer is amazingly blinded by his naivete. Kevin Whitaker. Recently, Gessen took the time to answer my questions about the book. For me personally, I had a close friend whose mortgage was underwater and I wanted to get an expert opinion.
On another level, I was interested in how a person with a real mastery of a field thinks about it, talks about it—what that sounds like. I always find that interesting, when people talk about their work, and HFM was able to talk about his in a uniquely thoughtful way. Gosh, a lot of things. Some of them were from other countries, and some of them were from this country. I knew all this in a vague way before. Now, I really know it; we all do. And that kind of belief occasionally caused him to be very unfeeling.
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