Andrew Ross Sorkin - Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System from Crisis---and Themselves
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Tumbling Wall
Pros
Easy to read
Cons
Who was too big?
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Easy enough for a layman to understand.
I remember the day Lehman Bros. said good-bye to its beloved Wall Street. And I remember when the federal government in 2008 bailed out and propped up AIG, American International Group. So reading New York Times business reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin's take on the backroom wheeling and dealing of the titans of Wall Street to save our gut punched weaken economy in 2008 was an eye-opener.
I knew dips and drabs of information about the chaotic financial climate at the time, so reading Sorkin's book filled in the missing pieces in my mind of the puzzle causing our fiscal woes today.
Sorkin, who has a weekly Acquistions and Mergers column in the NY Times, brings the reader inside the boardrooms of the power base of Wall Street during the height of the crisis. The reader gets to understand Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, John Mack, CEO of Morgan Stanley, etc., and their way of thinking to save our economy. Those frantic months at the end of 2008 was about rescuing the economy.
Sorkin tells us in the book that the wheeling and dealing among the biggest of bankers was intense with a dire sense of urgency. It was, after all, our worse economic crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
What simply amazed me about this book was Sorkin's ability to garner sources. I'm sure since he had the clout of being a NY Times business reporter that alone gave him privvy to a lot of the details of the backroom haggling, but it seemed as if he was in on every big discussion about rescuing the economy. His sources seem to be everyone. His work as a reporter is second to none.
That plus his writing, easy enough for a layman reader to understand the intricacies of world finance, makes this one of the best business historical books I have ever read. Given the fact that this crisis happened 18 months ago also is still fresh in the reader's mind, making it an even more interesting read.
Ross starts his tale on March 17, 2008 when the first big Wall Street house collapses, Bear Stearns. Suddenly there is a mad scrabble to to prop up Bear Stearns. Eventually, JP Morgan buys it at a dirt cheap price. Next in line was Merrill Lynch. Eventually Bank of America bought Lynch but as Ross recalled no one was around to buy Lehman Bros. The writer gives detail information, however, about negotiations to buy Lehman Bros., most notably by Britain's Barclay Bank. The deal as Ross explained faltered, leaving the distinguished, reputable Lehman Bros. to crumble.
Throughout the book, however, I remained confused. I never was sure if the title of the book, "Too Big To Fail," referred to Lehman Bros. or AIG. Since AIG was the insurer to many of the derivative market on Wall Street, many of the big Wall Street firms had insurance with AIG when the market headed down the perilous, slippery slope. This led to the government rescue of Wall Street by saving AIG.
Ross also adds notable characters in this book, given it a novel like read. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, and NY Fed Timothy Geithner are the three main characters and stars of the book. It was the decision making of all three of them that keep the economic fiasco from sinking deep into the abyss. Ross portrays them as heroes yet somewhat flawed like every other human. Still the strength and character of all three put them on the hero pedestal after reading this book.
In the end, Ross did an admirable job in putting together this book through a wealth of sources, and he did an admirable job in setting up the real life story line of events that shook our society and the world.
I don't know how the ivy league business professors have taken this book, but me, as a layman reader of the economy, I found it satisfied my curiosity about what happened to our economy. Reading this book, I took my time wanting to understand everything that Ross had to offer as far as information. Nonetheless it was still a quick and easy read due credit to Ross and his sterling book.
I knew dips and drabs of information about the chaotic financial climate at the time, so reading Sorkin's book filled in the missing pieces in my mind of the puzzle causing our fiscal woes today.
Sorkin, who has a weekly Acquistions and Mergers column in the NY Times, brings the reader inside the boardrooms of the power base of Wall Street during the height of the crisis. The reader gets to understand Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, John Mack, CEO of Morgan Stanley, etc., and their way of thinking to save our economy. Those frantic months at the end of 2008 was about rescuing the economy.
Sorkin tells us in the book that the wheeling and dealing among the biggest of bankers was intense with a dire sense of urgency. It was, after all, our worse economic crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
What simply amazed me about this book was Sorkin's ability to garner sources. I'm sure since he had the clout of being a NY Times business reporter that alone gave him privvy to a lot of the details of the backroom haggling, but it seemed as if he was in on every big discussion about rescuing the economy. His sources seem to be everyone. His work as a reporter is second to none.
That plus his writing, easy enough for a layman reader to understand the intricacies of world finance, makes this one of the best business historical books I have ever read. Given the fact that this crisis happened 18 months ago also is still fresh in the reader's mind, making it an even more interesting read.
Ross starts his tale on March 17, 2008 when the first big Wall Street house collapses, Bear Stearns. Suddenly there is a mad scrabble to to prop up Bear Stearns. Eventually, JP Morgan buys it at a dirt cheap price. Next in line was Merrill Lynch. Eventually Bank of America bought Lynch but as Ross recalled no one was around to buy Lehman Bros. The writer gives detail information, however, about negotiations to buy Lehman Bros., most notably by Britain's Barclay Bank. The deal as Ross explained faltered, leaving the distinguished, reputable Lehman Bros. to crumble.
Throughout the book, however, I remained confused. I never was sure if the title of the book, "Too Big To Fail," referred to Lehman Bros. or AIG. Since AIG was the insurer to many of the derivative market on Wall Street, many of the big Wall Street firms had insurance with AIG when the market headed down the perilous, slippery slope. This led to the government rescue of Wall Street by saving AIG.
Ross also adds notable characters in this book, given it a novel like read. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, and NY Fed Timothy Geithner are the three main characters and stars of the book. It was the decision making of all three of them that keep the economic fiasco from sinking deep into the abyss. Ross portrays them as heroes yet somewhat flawed like every other human. Still the strength and character of all three put them on the hero pedestal after reading this book.
In the end, Ross did an admirable job in putting together this book through a wealth of sources, and he did an admirable job in setting up the real life story line of events that shook our society and the world.
I don't know how the ivy league business professors have taken this book, but me, as a layman reader of the economy, I found it satisfied my curiosity about what happened to our economy. Reading this book, I took my time wanting to understand everything that Ross had to offer as far as information. Nonetheless it was still a quick and easy read due credit to Ross and his sterling book.
