A national best-selling author whose subjects range from sports to economics, Michael Lewis has been hailed as a master storyteller by the New York Times. Here he examines the American economic collapse of the early 21st century, profiling very few heroes, numerous villains and several people who just should have known better. Lewis offers a biting rebuke to this motley band of financial " experts" with keen research and a sharp pen.
2 of 4 copies available
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
November 20, 2014 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781464023248
- File size: 273440 KB
- Duration: 09:29:39
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Much of what caused the recent financial crisis is buried in complicated financial transactions and shady accounting practices. This book does an outstanding job of demystifying the schemes that led to the meltdown. As such, it's an accessible history of the period from 2005 to 2008, when the housing market imploded. Narrator Jesse Boggs has a pleasant, informative voice that conveys the book's ideas but misses the author's tone of outrage. Boggs's pitch does rise as the story becomes more outrageous, but his energy level still remains too low for the compelling nature of the events he recounts. His pacing and diction are excellent, and his decision to underplay the characters allows the debacle itself to take center stage. Nonetheless, one can't help wishing for a more forceful delivery. R.I.G. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine -
May 3, 2010
Although Lewis is perhaps best known for his sports-related nonfiction (including The Blind Side), his first book was the autobiographical Liarâs Poker, in which he chronicled his disillusionment as a young gun on Wall Street in the âgreed is goodâ 1980s. He returns to his financial roots to excavate the crisis of 2007â2008, employing his trademark technique of casting a microcosmic lens on the personal histories of several Wall Street outsiders who were betting against the grainâto shed light on the macrocosmic tale of greed and fear. Although Lewis reads the bookâs introduction, narration duties are assumed by Jesse Boggs, a veteran narrator of business titles (including Lewisâs own 2008 book Panic!). Boggsâs rich baritone is well suited to the task and trips lightly through a maze of financial jargon (CDOs, derivatives, mid-prime lending) and a dizzying cast of characters. Lewis returns on the final disc for a 10-minute interview about the crisisâs aftermath, including a savvy assessment of the wisdom of the financial bailout and where-are-they-now updates on the bookâs various heroes and villains. A Norton hardcover.
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