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5th out of 71 books
—
37 voters
Den of Thieves
A number-one bestseller from coast to coast, Den of Thieves tells, in masterfully reported detail, the full story of the insider-trading scandal that nearly destroyed Wall Street, the men who pulled it off, and the chase that finally brought them to justice. Pulitzer Prize winner James B. Stewart shows for the first time how four of the biggest names on Wall Street -- Mich...more
Paperback, 592 pages
Published
September 1st 1992
by Simon & Schuster
(first published 1991)
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For those that remember the high-flying days of the 1980's Wall Street, or even remember the fictional Gordon Gecko of the 1987 MOVIE "Wall Street", this is a definite read.
In fact, Gordon Gecko was inspired BY the real-life characters of this book: Michael Milken and Ivan Boesky. Boesky even spoke at Berkeley in 1986 talking about greed, saying, "I think greed is healthy. You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself". This statement became the impetus of the memorable Gordon Gecko speec...more
In fact, Gordon Gecko was inspired BY the real-life characters of this book: Michael Milken and Ivan Boesky. Boesky even spoke at Berkeley in 1986 talking about greed, saying, "I think greed is healthy. You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself". This statement became the impetus of the memorable Gordon Gecko speec...more
Great background from the 1980s for what is going on today (2011) in the financial markets. A wise professor has said that the needs of the financial markets to operate and profit now rival if not surpass our inclination to and institutions of democratic self-government. Witness the Greek government yesterday (3 Nov 2011) backing away from a referendum of the people (regarding their austerity measures imposed by financial powers in France and Germany) in favor of not upsetting the financial mark...more
This is not my style of book. Here is why I read it: I was weeding books on the shelves in the library and came across this book (which has never been taken out ). When I saw that it was about Michael Milken (who founded the Milken Family Foundation which grants $25,000 to at least one educator in each state each year and I won the first year NH came on board), I had to read it.
The book explains how Milken and others used junk bonds and their Wall Street knowledge, savvy, and insider -trading to...more
The book explains how Milken and others used junk bonds and their Wall Street knowledge, savvy, and insider -trading to...more
Not being a financial heavyweight when I was given this while recovering from major surgery I expected to be bored out fof my mind. On the contrary, I was delightfully surprised when after reading a few pages I found myself hooked. This is one those oft-referenced truth is stranger than fiction books. Reading the details of Michael Milken (since his release from a low-security government lockup like other phonies such as Charles Colson...he's found GOD... Gag me with a spoon!) and other scum lik...more
One of the great non-fiction writer/reporters in America, Stewart is the Bloomberg professor of business journalism at Columbia University. This book is among the reasons why Columbia would seek him out: The book is a culmination of the work he did with his deputy news editor at the Wall Street Journal covering the 1980s junk-bond scandals of Michael Milken and Ivan Boesky. He and the editor won the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism for coverage of the 1987 stock-market crash. The book i...more
If all it took was a major Wall Street scandal to bring down the center of United States financial institutions, it would have ended with the insider trading scandal covered in James Stewart's Den of Thieves. But as we're all too painfully aware, particularly in today's economy, greed and avarice continues to run amok among the investment banks, traders and law firms that make their bread on Wall Street.
As far as Wall Street crimes go, the insider trading scandal of the 1980s was not much differ...more
As far as Wall Street crimes go, the insider trading scandal of the 1980s was not much differ...more
James Stewart's account of the story behind the junk bond craze and subsequent crisis reads as a precursory case study to the real "schooling" brought to Wall Street by the rise and subsequent fall of the mortgage financing market decades later. The book re-iterates the lesson too often observed through different periods of financial history: Value attribution becomes increasingly driven by "confidence" and not cash flow as the risk trade progresses. This book is an insightful and sometimes unfl...more
This book is about the loss of household names such as Carnation, Beatrice, General foods, and Diamond Shamrock that vanished in takeovers that spawned criminal activity and violations of the securities laws. ... Michael R. Milken, Ivan F. Boesky, Martin Siegel, and Dennis B. Levine avoided full public disclosure by pleading guilty to reduced charges.
I stopped reading it because I decided that there are more uplifiting, higher value books that I would rather read. Sordid details are not my dieta...more
I stopped reading it because I decided that there are more uplifiting, higher value books that I would rather read. Sordid details are not my dieta...more
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
I'd rate this as the best financial book that I've read. First, it has some of the best writing I've seen--I could hardly put this down. Second, the depth and breadth of it are simply amazing: Stewart covers Milken, Boesky, Levine and several other people and firms. The second half gets more into the investigation and prosecution. The main character there is Rudy Guiliani. Throughout, it's compelling and educations. Highly recommended.
Dec 11, 2009
Brian
is currently reading it
Awesome, so far. The story of leveraged buyouts, hostile takeovers and insider trading by Wallstreet titans in the 1980s. Michael Milken was one of the most powerful people on the planet in those days. The character of Gordon Gekko (Wallstreet) was based on Ivan Boesky. It was Boesky who coined the term, "Greed is Good."
I'm about 20 years too late to read but hey...
Profit tacking, mergers & acquisitions, and hostile takeovers in the 80's all fueled by insider trading used to manipulate
and profit. Use of offshore bank accounts let investments bankers and arbigateurs invest and undermine the very companies that represent them. How bad does it go? Well, in 1986 Mike Milken received a 550 million dollar bonus. Yup, and that's just the above board profits.
Since the government really didn't stop offshore banking...more
Profit tacking, mergers & acquisitions, and hostile takeovers in the 80's all fueled by insider trading used to manipulate
and profit. Use of offshore bank accounts let investments bankers and arbigateurs invest and undermine the very companies that represent them. How bad does it go? Well, in 1986 Mike Milken received a 550 million dollar bonus. Yup, and that's just the above board profits.
Since the government really didn't stop offshore banking...more
A brilliant book giving an unparalleled insight on the Insider Trading scandal of 1980's and the consequences of it. Must read if you want to learn how few investment bankers grew out of proportion through their crimes to become wealthiest and most powerful professionals in the America's history
Enjoyed learning about the greed of the 80's and now I can act like I know what I'm talking about the next time the interesting topic of junk bonds comes up. Way too much detail though. At the end of the book I felt like one of the SEC lawyers who had been working on the case for 6 years.
Detailed biography of the junk-bond "mafia" that included players like Goldman Sachs, Ivan Boesky, Kidder Peabody, Drexel and others. Especially insightful was the 2nd part of the book, where the SEC comes into the narrative. Although the book focuses on the Wall Street side of the story, the end has a wonderful climax as you sense government investigators slowly chipping-away at the mafia's wall. Overall well-written, plenty of meaty details with the suspense of a movie.
Excellent, detailed and well-written account of the Milken/Boesky era of high crime on Wall Street, plus the federal prosecutors who brought them down. The 1980s junk bond market resembles (VERY closely) the mortgage-backed securities market that started our current troubles.
Like "Barbarians at the Gate" this book is all about the financial world in the 1980's, the "insider trading" , hostile takeovers, etc. fueled by competitive, unquenchable greed. For those old enough to remember, Mike Milliken and his junk bonds are part of this story. The SEC subsequently established rules making these types of abuses more difficult. Milliken went to jail. Eliot Spitzer tried to clean up Wall Street. Years later Martha Stewart was made the most public example of these rules vio...more
I read this book in high school in my senior year. It is a great book not just for the in depth story of the junk bond era of Michael Milken and Ivan Boesky but about Wall St. & Finance during the 70's.
I loved this book. James Stewart is one of the best nonfiction writers in the world. This tangled story of junk bonds and insider trading couldn't be more enthralling or enraging.
Great first half of the book and then it drags on for the entire second half. Should have been shorter and would have gotten a higher ranking. Very interesting story though.
Wow. Just... wow. I had a hard time putting this book down. I wonder how many more times our economy has to be screwed over by a few selfish, unscrupulous men before some more radical changes happen?
One of the most fascinating coverages of insider trading and junk bonds. Wall Street and the fortunes made and lost in the early 80's through the 90's is unbelievable.
Wallstreet has always been up to the same old things, this book is years old and the same thing is still going on. This book oepned my eyes in a GREAT WAY.
James Stewart takes a very complex subject and make it easy to understand and enjoyable. Subject matter is a bit dated now but a great yarn.
I vaguely remember the events this book describes--enough to experience a vague sense of discomfort when I encounter the names "Drexel Burnham," "Milken" and "Boesky" or the term "junk bond"--but never really knew what happened. Until I read this book. And man, it's an incredible story, assuming you're into white-collar crime and financial misconduct of the first order, as I am.
It's particularly interesting to read this book in the wake of the Rajaratnam conviction (and during the ongoing Gupta...more
It's particularly interesting to read this book in the wake of the Rajaratnam conviction (and during the ongoing Gupta...more
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
Great objective view of the insider trading activities and investigation of Ivan Boesky, Michael Milken, Wall Street in the 80s.
Nice book to read. Gives inside information about stock scandal & inside trading. A must read for people who invest in stocks.
A sad but important story of insider trading that reveals the subtle sophistication of high flying thieves.
Fascinating story of Siegel, Boesky and Milken. The labyrinthine legal chase in the 2nd half was amazing.
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