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jedwin00's review against another edition
4.0
Another engaging read by Lewis about a complicated real world event! Weird ending where Lewis tries to justify fraud and dislikes one of the great bankruptcy CEOs of our times.
trnolan's review against another edition
2.0
Bad journalism, which is fun to read for the hoops Lewis jumps through to still paint SBF as a hero. Falls apart by the end as Lewis employs incredibly poor math skills, a misunderstanding of what is fraud and a no effort to understand crypto to paint SBF as innocent. Easy to see through but a fun read for Lewis ability to weave a narrative. Just don't believe it.
swally2005's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Rating this five stars for the writing. Not because of the views that the author obviously espouses regarding his subject. I definitely can see why Michael Lewis has gotten the reviews that he has regarding this book--he very much comes across as a Sam Bankman-Fried sympathizer. In my opinion, the overall message of the book is that Sam is a very intelligent, but misunderstood, and also somehow wholly oblivious and incompetent individual, who was unfairly picked on. There is not much accountability placed on him for his actions, nor much pretense of objectivity in this book. That being said, Michael Lewis does do a good job recounting his time in Sam Bankman-Fried's world, and the book does give insight into who the man is and just how unqualified he was to be running ANYTHING. You'll just likely draw different conclusions about the man than Michael Lewis does.
jknoxwhite's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
Tautly written but perhaps a little self aggrandizing by the author. I wanted a little more from the story but there wasn't more to give. Feels like a book that was interrupted in the midst of it's creation. Which it was.
A lot of the historical information, from before Lewis meets SBF was more interesting and engaging than the second half.
It's clear that Lewis likes SBF and that clearly colors his writing. It's fine, but makes I've wonder if he is not too close to his subject.
A lot of the historical information, from before Lewis meets SBF was more interesting and engaging than the second half.
It's clear that Lewis likes SBF and that clearly colors his writing. It's fine, but makes I've wonder if he is not too close to his subject.
radagast23's review against another edition
2.0
Just meh. Lacked a truly compelling narrative like the big short. The writing style was not very enjoyable in my opinion and the insistence that obvious personality flaws were not at fault was just weird.
jakezuke's review against another edition
1.0
The Infinite Apologies for the Crypto Con Artist
What a shame that Michael Lewis, the renowned author of some truly great books like [b:Moneyball|1301|Moneyball|Michael Lewis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388176510l/1301._SY75_.jpg|416305] and [b:The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine|26889576|The Big Short Inside the Doomsday Machine|Michael Lewis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446581171l/26889576._SY75_.jpg|6654434] fall for the hollow charms of one of the most notorious figures in the cryptocurrency debacle. In Going Infinite, Lewis seems to have been led astray, much like the investors and enthusiasts who fell for the grand illusion spun by Sam Bankman-Fried.
Lewis’s infatuation with the so-called “effective altruism” narrative, especially when considering the overwhelming evidence of Bankman-Fried’s deceit and the morally bankrupt individuals in his orbit, is perplexing. Where is the "effective altruism" in paying Tom Brady and Steph Curry 10s-of-millions of dollars to get a handful of hours of face time with them? It's more vanity than virtue, an angle sorely missing from this book.
What Going Infinite truly lacks is a critical examination of the real victims—those ordinary people who lost everything while Bankman-Fried and the cast of shady FTX characters cashed in. Instead of continuing the tired trope of the “new economy wunderkind,” Lewis had the opportunity to shine a light on the countless lives destroyed by FTX’s collapse and opine on how we can spot these con artists in the future. Sadly, he chose, consciously or not, to become yet another voice in the chorus of apologists that are all too frequent when talking frauds at this scale. Glad he didn't write a book on Bernie Madoff. Lewis may have petitioned the Vatican for sainthood.
The amount of wilful ignorance that Lewis had to show in the face of facts shows that even the smart can be duped by the sociopaths. This book shines an undeserving favourable light on the crypto bros that continue to this day to scam, steal, pump-and-dump, and rugpull their way to tainted fortune. Save yourself the infinite disappointment and skip this one.
What a shame that Michael Lewis, the renowned author of some truly great books like [b:Moneyball|1301|Moneyball|Michael Lewis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388176510l/1301._SY75_.jpg|416305] and [b:The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine|26889576|The Big Short Inside the Doomsday Machine|Michael Lewis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446581171l/26889576._SY75_.jpg|6654434] fall for the hollow charms of one of the most notorious figures in the cryptocurrency debacle. In Going Infinite, Lewis seems to have been led astray, much like the investors and enthusiasts who fell for the grand illusion spun by Sam Bankman-Fried.
Lewis’s infatuation with the so-called “effective altruism” narrative, especially when considering the overwhelming evidence of Bankman-Fried’s deceit and the morally bankrupt individuals in his orbit, is perplexing. Where is the "effective altruism" in paying Tom Brady and Steph Curry 10s-of-millions of dollars to get a handful of hours of face time with them? It's more vanity than virtue, an angle sorely missing from this book.
What Going Infinite truly lacks is a critical examination of the real victims—those ordinary people who lost everything while Bankman-Fried and the cast of shady FTX characters cashed in. Instead of continuing the tired trope of the “new economy wunderkind,” Lewis had the opportunity to shine a light on the countless lives destroyed by FTX’s collapse and opine on how we can spot these con artists in the future. Sadly, he chose, consciously or not, to become yet another voice in the chorus of apologists that are all too frequent when talking frauds at this scale. Glad he didn't write a book on Bernie Madoff. Lewis may have petitioned the Vatican for sainthood.
The amount of wilful ignorance that Lewis had to show in the face of facts shows that even the smart can be duped by the sociopaths. This book shines an undeserving favourable light on the crypto bros that continue to this day to scam, steal, pump-and-dump, and rugpull their way to tainted fortune. Save yourself the infinite disappointment and skip this one.