Den of Thieves
by James B. Stewart
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 220)
Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
financial junkies
This book follows the corrupt 1980's rise & fall of Wall Street's biggest insider trading ring in history, ultimately leading to the stock market crash in 1987. The four main men covered are Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Martin Siegel, and Dennis Levine. While different in their degree & manner of law breaking, the common denominator with them all is the inability to resist financial temptation. These were guys whose genius made them wealthy beyond what most can fathom, but for whom that ...more
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Read in November, 2007
This is the story of the emergence and explosion of aggressive arbitrage in the early 80's financial markets. It is worth reading because the current financial situation with hedge funds and equity firns has an eerie resemblance to the events written about in this book. I didn't think this book would be that interesting -- it's about finance, after all -- but the author's pace was quick, his explanations of the world of finance were lucid and clear to the laymen, and his portrayal of the amazing...more
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Really good business book about the raddest insider trading scandal ever. Except for Dennis Levine, Ivan Boesky, and Michael Milken, who come off as just sleazebags par excellence, you get a sense that the rest of the perpetrators are decent guys who just couldn't resist their own greed. There's an element of Greek tragedy in here, or maybe it's just me.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
Hard core Wall Street people only
A bunch of nerdy guys in the 80's make A LOT of money. A bunch of underpaid government employees uncover the massive scandals that allowed the nerds to make all that money. Nerds go to jail. Everyone in the 80's cared. The End.
Saved you a lot of time just then.
Saved you a lot of time just then.
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Read this for a bookclub. Stewart is a clear and lucid writer (despite being trained as a lawyer). The story of Milken, Levine, and the junkbond kingpins of the '80s is really amazing: to watch the money build and build, and then watch it all fall apart.
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Read in December, 2007
Shocking documentation of greed on Wall Street in the "greed is good" era-- I imagine things are not that much different these days, given the recent private equity boom and bust and implosion of mortgage-backed securities
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Read in July, 2006
If you like the feeling of 'earning' obscene amounts of money while engaging in nefarious activities, then this is the book for you (hehe). All about the heady days of junkbond trading in the 80's on wallstreet.
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Read in January, 2008
Intriguing portrait of greed-soaked Wall Street in the 80's, starring Michael Milken and his billionaire buddies. Non-fiction. Written by a Wall Street Journal reporter with a trenchant style.
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recommends it for:
all
The greatest exploration of illegal insider operations on Wall Street. The book tells about rise & fall of some famous & respectable corporations & people in the end of 1980's.
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Until I started working in finance, I really had no understanding of just how greedy people are. Why have one helicopter when you can have three? Welcome to America!
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Read in March, 2007
recommends it for:
insomniacs
Dry as the Sahara, but hugely informative. If the money markets fascinate you, there is not a better explanation of what went on at Drexel in the 80's.
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An amazing book about how junk bonds overwhelmed corporate finance for a brief period. Sounds dry, but it's really fascinating.
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Long before the Enron debacle, the single most exciting book about white collar crime I've ever read. Reads like a thriller.
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Excellent account of insider trading - very clear, easy to understand and follow. Great detail in characters and in action.
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An amazingly detailed history of the S&L and junk bond scandals of the '80s. You won't be able to put this one down.
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Read in January, 2005
I can't believe Jimmy Stewart had such insight into the world of financial journalism. The guy blows me away.
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Read in February, 1997
A great business book. Compelling look at the insider trading scandal of the 1980's.
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a moralizing tome unequal to George Anders's "Merchants of Debt."
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Read in January, 1994
read this in college and it was such an eye opener. i loved it.
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Read in June, 2008
Excellent re-creation of a crazy time on Wall Street.
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