Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System---and Themselves by Andrew Ross Sorkin
I decided to add this book into my nonfiction rotation a few months ago so I could better understand the scale of the Greek financial crisis. Sorkin's book does not disappoint. It is is as fun to read as it is educational. The huge scale of Lehman Brothers, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs is akin to mythical kingdoms The men who run them, and their egos, are larger than life. As most stories go, this one ends up with redemption, but not in the way most people and bankers would like. The US financial system was saved, but we also seemed to have lost faith in it. Fairy tales have white knights, bank bailouts get anger, in both stories something is lost and gained.
Setting the book up like a play, Sorkin's first eight pages are the names of all the players. I wanted this story to have a black hat bad guy, and a white hat good guy. It seemed to play out that way in the press. Unfortunately it doesn't. It does, however, have a fascinating insight into the psychology of a group of people who run these large institution. They are, in short, just like us. And they do think, "It can't happen here."
That phrase, those words, it can't happen here, are the reason I had to replace a car window a few months ago. See, my husband and I moved to what we though was a nice safe neighborhood. We ignored the screeching advice from people saying that our area was prone to smash and grab car theft. Well one morning I had to call my boss and tell her I was running late, and I am still digging glass out of the backseat. I used it can't happen here to try to protect me from car thieves. Bankers used it to convince themselves that their huge financial institutions wouldn't collapse. We both got the same results.
As I slide this one on my shelf, I hope that Sorkin continues to write nonfiction. His voice is clear, the book was dense and readable, and he knows how turn a phrase. Honestly, if he doesn't get a similar book out of the Eurozone crisis, then he needs to quit. I want to read his take on it, and I want him to write the cornerstone book.
I'm moving onto some fiction with The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. This book has been taunting me for years.
I decided to add this book into my nonfiction rotation a few months ago so I could better understand the scale of the Greek financial crisis. Sorkin's book does not disappoint. It is is as fun to read as it is educational. The huge scale of Lehman Brothers, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs is akin to mythical kingdoms The men who run them, and their egos, are larger than life. As most stories go, this one ends up with redemption, but not in the way most people and bankers would like. The US financial system was saved, but we also seemed to have lost faith in it. Fairy tales have white knights, bank bailouts get anger, in both stories something is lost and gained.
Setting the book up like a play, Sorkin's first eight pages are the names of all the players. I wanted this story to have a black hat bad guy, and a white hat good guy. It seemed to play out that way in the press. Unfortunately it doesn't. It does, however, have a fascinating insight into the psychology of a group of people who run these large institution. They are, in short, just like us. And they do think, "It can't happen here."
That phrase, those words, it can't happen here, are the reason I had to replace a car window a few months ago. See, my husband and I moved to what we though was a nice safe neighborhood. We ignored the screeching advice from people saying that our area was prone to smash and grab car theft. Well one morning I had to call my boss and tell her I was running late, and I am still digging glass out of the backseat. I used it can't happen here to try to protect me from car thieves. Bankers used it to convince themselves that their huge financial institutions wouldn't collapse. We both got the same results.
As I slide this one on my shelf, I hope that Sorkin continues to write nonfiction. His voice is clear, the book was dense and readable, and he knows how turn a phrase. Honestly, if he doesn't get a similar book out of the Eurozone crisis, then he needs to quit. I want to read his take on it, and I want him to write the cornerstone book.
I'm moving onto some fiction with The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. This book has been taunting me for years.
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