Friday, October 30, 2009

The Liar's Poker

I picked this book as it is supposed to be a must read for all b school grads. Not many years ago for all the finance grads Ibanking was a job to watch for. I was always a strategy student, even when i did not know what it meant :P. I understand finance well because it is a part of day to day life and somehow the complex products never made sense to me because by the end of the day the monay making in financal markets is a case of arbitrage opportunities and i dont think any structured book can teach it.

Anyway, getting back to book, YES, this is one of the most interesting and hilarious read. I love the mind of the writer, the way he has seen all the characters around him and brought out the vanity of the whole game. He has talked about the fall of mighty Solomom Brothers, the arrogance of its employees and what led them to failure. I somehow miss the failure bit and i get attractd to the risk taking ability of Solomon guys. The writer has the most fun filled explanation on every decision and every character in the bank. He has projected himself as a young victim to the tyranny of his arrogant fat money making bosses and how he was fooled day in and day out till he learned the money making game and adjusted to the non existent culture of the firm. He has in most simple langauge explained the fianancial innovation which led to loss of billion dollars in the market. I like the character sketch, the innocent eyes of a young guy who enters trading floor and how he watches the ruthless trading floor aspiring to be one of them, but not knowing how and also doubting if he will be able to survive the game.

A very interesting read, you will remember humour for lifetime. Its intelligent, subtle and you can just relate to writer and laugh at it. I loved it. This is a good writing by Michael Lewis and i totally give him star 5 for his sense of humour.

No comments: