Michael Lewis gives us a view of one of the causes of the financial crisis by taking us into the lives of the managers of three hedge funds, and one bond salesman who saw it coming. Some of the media coverage of Lewis and this book would lead you to believe that this is a comprehensive account of the causes of the financial crisis. It is not. No one could cover every factor that fed into the crisis in a 264 page book. What Lewis does in this book is take the mind-numbingly complex world of derivatives linked to mortgage bonds and explain them, as much as it is possible, in terms that the lay person can understand. And he does so through fascinating narratives that allow us to see the crisis unfolding through the eyes of these men.
One thing that was interesting to me was that these 5 men who saw this coming made huge, multi-million dollar profits by betting against the sub-prime mortgage industry. But, at the end of the book, the snapshots Lewis give us of them shows them to be stressed, angry, and experiencing high levels of anxiety. They foresaw the crisis and made more money than most people will see in a lifetime, but it could not bring them happiness and peace.
What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but lose his soul?
Sojourner
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