The Big Short, Michael Lewis
Rating: 
I’ve been a fan of Michael Lewis since reading Liar’s Poker when I was studying at Cal a few years ago, he’s one of those rare writers that has a knack for making a non-fiction book read like an engrossing novel rather than a text book. The Big Short is no exception. Reading this book was particularly enlightening for me as — after experiencing the financial meltdown of 2007-2008 firsthand — The Big Short provides an enthralling insight into the breakdowns that occurred during the crisis and the events leading up to them. Lewis’ choice to focus on three funds that correctly foresaw the crisis results in a slightly skewed view of the whole mess, but the story is thoroughly engrossing all the same. Well worth a read…
Publisher’s Weekly: Although Lewis is perhaps best known for his sports-related nonfiction (including The Blind Side), his first book was the autobiographical Liar’s Poker, in which he chronicled his disillusionment as a young gun on Wall Street in the greed is good 1980s. He returns to his financial roots to excavate the crisis of 2007–2008, employing his trademark technique of casting a microcosmic lens on the personal histories of several Wall Street outsiders who were betting against the grain — to shed light on the macrocosmic tale of greed and fear.