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mastersal's review against another edition
5.0
A must read for all us people who work in finance. This made my laugh and cry at the same time. We are all doomed by the way.
4ndysmith's review against another edition
2.0
I heard this book was somewhat of a classic, and judging from the author's other successful books (of which all were made into successful movies that I enjoy), on top of the fact of it being somewhat related to my career, I figured this would be an excellent read for me.
Unfortunately, I found the story awkward to follow and the writing crass and fluffy. It seems many people praise it for its fluff, and granted, it was funny at times and undoubtedly mirrors the language of the culture at the time (and in some cases, still now that of the corporate elite...) But about a third of the way in, I grew tired and started to skim to the end of paragraphs since this is where the author's point was usually found.
Anyways, at least it ended on a good, more human note. The amount of money one earns is undoubtedly random and not a measure of “one's contribution to the welfare and prosperity of our society.” But, overall, this was not a fun read for me. I only stuck through to the end because it seemed like ‘required reading’ for me in my field.
Unfortunately, I found the story awkward to follow and the writing crass and fluffy. It seems many people praise it for its fluff, and granted, it was funny at times and undoubtedly mirrors the language of the culture at the time (and in some cases, still now that of the corporate elite...) But about a third of the way in, I grew tired and started to skim to the end of paragraphs since this is where the author's point was usually found.
Anyways, at least it ended on a good, more human note. The amount of money one earns is undoubtedly random and not a measure of “one's contribution to the welfare and prosperity of our society.” But, overall, this was not a fun read for me. I only stuck through to the end because it seemed like ‘required reading’ for me in my field.
silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
“I have this theory," says Andy Stone, seated in his office at Prudential-Bache securities. "Wall Street makes its best producers into managers. The reward for being a good producer is to be made a manager. The best producers are cutthroat, competitive, and often neurotic and paranoid. You turn those people into managers, and they go after each other. They no longer have the outlet for their instincts that producing gave them. They usually aren't well suited to be managers. Half of them get thrown out because they are bad. Another quarter get muscled out because of politics. The guys left behind are just the most ruthless of the bunch. That's why there are cycles on Wall Street—why Salomon Brothers is getting crunched now—because the ruthless people are bad for the business but can only be washed out by proven failure.”
I unfortunately did not enjoy this as much as I thought I would. I have the physical copy while also listening to the truly stunningly produced audiobook by Pushkin Press with so many additional sound-effects to really immerse you in the story and yet I still struggled. I am currently on a trading floor - albeit not on Wall Street and at a very different time - and it is very different to what is described in this novel, particularly in terms of the sales teams relationship with their clients and their traders. Not to mention, the crude writing was quite simply not to my taste.
This really was a shame, but I can recognise its enjoyment value for some. Perhaps, women and people who belong to various minority groups will not benefit from reading this - in fact it does not feel very relevant for students going into trading nowadays. Do not freak yourself out and save yourself the trouble of reading this.
daeus's review against another edition
4.0
I'm becoming a big fan of Michael Lewis. This book was really fun to read and I finished it with a lot more insight into wall street history. Lewis is really thorough in explaining the mentality and motivations of some of the major players in the chaos and the overall culture of wall street in the 80s.
ledes's review against another edition
Way too much detail about one Wall Street firm from 40 years ago. Disgusting in its focus on young privileged white men about to get rich. Describes racism and sexism as just “part of the culture”. Does not merit my time.
jcoker10's review against another edition
4.0
Classic Michael Lewis--smart, funny, well-written, and important. Lewis's description of the shocking corruption on Wall St. is as relevant today as it was in 2007 and in the 1980's. Fantastic read. Lewis can do no wrong.