Wall Street book reviews

Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe.

I'm sure you all know this classic satirical novel about a bond trader whose life falls apart when he takes a wrong turn in the Bronx, gets in an accident, and falls into the New York City justice system.

Barbarians at the Gate : The Fall of Rjr Nabisco by Bryan Burrough, John Helyar.

This gripping true story of the leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco makes it hard to believe anything but greed and egos motivates Wall Street. From one man's climb from a small subsidary to lead RJR Nabisco to the multi-billion dollar deal destroyed because the banks couldn't agree whose name would go first, this is a fascinating book.

Liar's Poker : Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street by Michael Lewis.

This true account of Michael Lewis's stint on Wall Street provides an amazing behind the scenes view of the life of a bond trader. This book is packed with entertaining anecdotes, from his first days in training, to the title game, to his decision to leave.

Bombardiers by Po Bronson.

Imagine Catch-22 re-written to feature junk bond traders in San Francisco, and you'd have this very amusing novel, where traders attempt a hostile takeover of the Dominican Republic. It's roughly the fictional counterpart of Liar's Poker.

Den of Thieves by James B. Stewart.

If you want to be convinced that junk bond salesmen in general and Michael Milken in particular are evil, this is the book. This investigation of the insider trading and security law violations of the 1980's makes you wonder about the "economic efficiency" of Wall Street. It is interesting that this book discusses Milken's expensive public relations efforts, which seem to be restoring his reputation in many circles.

Ken Shirriff: shirriff@eng.sun.com This page: http://www.righto.com/books/wallstreet.html Copyright 1998 Ken Shirriff.

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