Product Description Truth really is stranger than fiction. Who better than the author of the signature bestseller Liar-s Poker to explain how the event we were told was impossible-the free fall of the American economy-finally occurred; how the things that we wanted, like ridiculously easy money and greatly expanded home ownership, were vehicles for that crash; and how shareholder demand for profit forced investment executives to eat the forbidden fruit of toxic derivatives.Michael Lewis-s splendid cast of characters includes villains, a few heroes, and a lot of people who look very, very foolish: high government officials, including the watchdogs; heads of major investment banks (some overlap here with previous category); perhaps even the face in your mirror. In this trenchant, raucous, irresistible narrative, Lewis writes of the goats and of the few who saw what the emperor was wearing, and gives them, most memorably, what they deserve. He proves yet again that he is the finest and funniest chronicler of our times.
The Big Short(cut) ...September 7, 2010 James A. Hatherley(Boston, MA) I have read and reviewed a number of Michael Lewis' books, "Moneyball" being the best to date in my view. While not his best, I cannot imagine that many investigative authors can approach Lewis' tenacity and attention to detail (only Dan Brown comes to mind), and the author's skills are in keen display in "The Big Short".
Perhaps it is because the subject matter was so complicated, but I had difficulty following all the confusing details. However, the big picture seemed clear - Wall Street managers devised a scheme to essentially sell a bundled mortgage bond product to its customers that consisted of a house of financially hopeless cards yet was presented as a triple A, no-risk investment. Investors, even presumably sophisticated investors, did not know the nature of the contents of these bond portfolios, nor apparently had the intellectual curiosity to find out. Instead the process and problem continued, and festered below the radar screen due to the greed and associated bonus payouts of the smart guys.
Ultimately it was left to a small group of unaligned individuals who inherently understood that what Goldman Sachs et als were selling was not worth buying. (NB, in this instance, there is a distinct connection to Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink", particularly his chapter on "the adaptive unconscious". The stories of these contrarians is who "The Big Short" is about - how they began the process of selling short the bogus bundled bonds etc. because the data showed that the decreasing lending practices were creating an unsustainable result - of a major magnitude. And, they were right - unqualified homeowners began defaulting on their loans causing the entire financial system to collapse. The stories of these few geniuses, and their not so glorious aftermaths, are brilliantly delivered by the author.
However, not so brilliantly developed, in fact, not delivered at all - were the political manoeverings behind the Government's affirmative action practice of ensuring that loans be made to people obviously unable to repay them - backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (e.g., the taxpayers). There is no political finger pointing here - which is a clear disappointment, and major flaw to "The Big Short" in my view. For instance, how long did it take for this government mortgage-for-all bullying process to unwind? What were the roles of Clinton, Bush, Frank and Dodd, or others? Did they actively conspire with the Wall Street Executives to create this foreseeable nightmare. And, what about Greenspan and the Fed?
As I noted, this book has so many details that it is difficult to understand at the detail level. However, the big picture is pretty clear. This is a highly recommended book with the exception noted.
GREAT BOOKSeptember 5, 2010 LYDIA This book gives great insight into the financial meltdown told through the experience of a few people who saw it coming. Lets you know that greed and ignorance is alive and well in the financial market place.
Great bookSeptember 5, 2010 M. Hyman(Seattle, WA USA) The Big Short is a fascinating look into the financial meltdown that caused the collapse of the world economy. It explains in a very understandable way what tanked the economy, as well as looking in depth at the people that caused it, their motivations, the crazy and corrupt system that made it possible, and a variety of individuals who were smart enough (or lucky enough) to predict the meltdown and made fortunes from it.
The book is fast paced and easy to read. It will in part make you want to get in on the action, make you disgusted at the greed and idiocy that lead to the market collapse, and wonder if the market will ever recover. And it will make you even madder about the executives of the large financial companies who make millions and millions in bonuses for essentially stealing the futures away from most people.
A great read. It is one of those current economic event books you will not be able to put down.
A Safe BetSeptember 5, 2010 Ted Bender(Florida) The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine Michael Lewis's Liar's Poker provides an interesting and believable explanation for the Recession of 2009. Taking the perspective of a number of smaller hedge fund managers who saw through the smoke and mirrors of the mortgage crisis, Lewis explains in understandable language how we got into this mess. Readers will see how the actions of mortgage originators, banks, rating agencies and Wall Street all contributed to the debacle. Well worth the read.
Simple CrimeSeptember 4, 2010 Stephen A Miller When mortgage lenders extorted the appraisers to keep jacking prices higher the banks and the rating agencies can't explain they didn't know their mortgage bonds were a huge bubble they created on purpose to continue making fees from borrowers they were suckering.
Not one review or Lewis clarify even the most simple of the crimes. The false AAA ratings are as obvious a crime as an attack with a baseball bat. The notion that the ratings were bought with fees is as simple as a crack deal on the corner. All the crap about complicated models made a fool of Lewis. My hunch is that Lewis knew it was a crime but refuses to make the allegation.
When the rating agencies testified under oath to Congress that their complicated mathematical models failed to work properly, they also committed perjury. These people can't be expected to testify we committed fraud, please arrest us. The rating companies can rate a single borrower like a corporation with a certified balance sheet, or a state with a visible budget. There is no way to rate millions of mortgages knowing that residential real estate prices are being forced higher by appraisers who are being extorted to either lie or to never get any more business.
Not one Congress person, the President, or the Attorney General ever contended the obvious, simple crime being committed to generate millions of foreclosures. The media pundits ordained the crime and even Michael Lewis skirts around the crime in his story THE BIG SHORT.
