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Summary: Delightful Surprise
Review: What an enjoyable book this was. I am so excited when I walk through a bookstore and come across a hidden treasure. The book describes life in a Wall Street investment bank in the 80s. What's so amazing about it is that it's real and all this actually happened somewhere sometime (and probably still does). An added bonus is the education you get on certain aspects of the markets such as fixed-income (bond) trading and how the industry is always looking for new ways to confuse the average joe. If you have some time on your hands, read this book, it can't hurt and it will only take about two days.
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Summary: Great inside info on Wall Street
Review: What the heck do all those Wall Street insiders know that we normal people don't? Nothing. And author Michael Lewis tells us the behind the scenes stories that illustrate this very point. He focuses on his time spent a Salomon Brothers in the 1980's. He tells a tale with humorous bent and really gets you feeling the tenseness that pervaded the office. Not only a quick and interesting read, but an insightful one too.
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Summary: The funniest book I have ever read!
Review: I couldn't stop laughing and never wanted to put this book down. It takes you back to the rouring 80's when the junk bond market was getting started. Lewis brings his characters to life! I love this book.
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Summary: Fun at first, a chore to finish
Review: Michael Lewis knows how to tell some nice anecdotes about life on Wall Street, but after the first 20 pages, it's largely a tale of the stresses of bond trading. He does go into some detail about how the deregulations of the 1980's allowed for many interesting types of trading, but it remains largely dull for the rest of the book.If you're looking to be entertained, a better book about Wall Street would be Bombardiers by Po Bronson. After reading both books, it's very obvious that Bronson was heavily influenced by Liar's Poker, but by being pure fiction, allows for more interesting and sympathetic characters and is far funnier.
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Summary: Great book for your holiday
Review: Do you want a great laugh? Well I had one with this book. Normally it takes a while to warm me up, but Lewis did the job in 10 pages. The book gives a good impression about 'the big swinging ...', but watch out. Don't start reading, if you don't have the time to finish it the same day. The book kept me out of the pool for a hole day on my vacation, so, for all you big swingers, have fun and buy the book...(I read the book 2 years ago, but it's still in my head! )
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Summary: The "Must Read" Book About The Street in the 80's
Review: If you are getting into the financial industry, you need to read this book. It's a fun, fast-read but educational and insightful. Enjoy.
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Summary: I was working at Salomon Brothers at the time...
Review: ... that Mr. Lewis describes, and worked for the fixed income trading desk, so I know for a fact most of his descriptions are pure fiction. As for the rest, he has taken three years of events, embellished and exaggerated them, and presented them as if they occurred in a single day, creating an image of out-of-control mayhem in the company. Mr. Lewis is a mediocre writer at best, lacking in financial expertise, and interested solely in pulp gossips and self-promotion. If you wish to read an actually well-written book on Wall Street, read "Barbarians at the Gate", "Market Wizards" or "Money Machine" - skip this trash.
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Summary: Very much an insider's guide...
Review: I am an investment banker on Wall Street and found the book quite funny and pointed. However, it will probably be less enjoyable for those not on Wall Street. There are a lot of "in-jokes" which might be hilarious to M&A analysts like myself, but pointless to others.
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Summary: Your Broker Your Friend
Review: Nothing funny about this book..as some reviewers have tried to say. Just have your best friend sell you some garbage paper on Wall Street and when that happens you'll get the drift real soon.....Lewis is brilliant.... and yes Michael I now know how your Frenchman feels...... Here's to you Michael, and thanks. wjs p.s. I love Louie
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Summary: Full service casinos!
Review: Unlike (nearly all, or all) academic economics books, which 'explain' that arbitrage does not and cannot exist, Lewis explains to us how the big bond houses live from arbitrage (buying low from the government or somewhere else and selling a bit higher to you and me). The book is a rare, a highly entertaining and very informative jewel: Lewis rightfully and poetically calls brokerage houses 'full servive casinos', far better than Monte Carlo or Las Vegas. Not only will they accept and place your bets, they'll also lend you (a large fraction of) the money needed to place your bets (margin)! A very good book to read now (1/27/00) during the 'wild ride' before the present big market bubble goes: POP! Unfortunately, Lewis tells us too litlte about Meriwether, who later seduced two of the top finance academics (they were willing) and, with their aid, constructed the huge, uncontrolled experiment in 'equilibrium theory' called 'Long Term Capital Management' (LTCM). Their philosophy, also believed uncritically by most working economists, was and likely still is: Equilibrium will prevail (even in the absence of restoring forces!). For the continuation of the story where Liar's poker leaves off ('portfolio insurance', arbitrage and more arbitrage, and the formation and collapse of the bubble called LTCM), see the new book "Inventing Money".
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