false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171064043m/86161.jpg 86161 8 <I>Ugly Americans</I> documents the "Wild East" of the mid-1990s, where young, brilliant, and hypercompetitive traders became "hedge fund cowboys," manipulating loopholes in an outdated and inefficient Asian financial system to rake in millions. Using a concept called arbitrage, they made their fortunes mainly on minute shifts in stocks being sold on the Nikkei, the Japanese stock market, collapsing banks and nearly bankrupting the Japanese economy in the process. Other schemes were also concocted, most of which were technically legal, though certainly unethical. This true story revolves around "John Malcolm," who, in exchange for anonymity, agreed to give Ben Mezrich all the access and information he needed to write this book. As a recent Princeton graduate in the mid-1990s, Malcolm accepted an undefined job offer from an American expatriate in Japan to work in the investments field. Though he had no prior experience, he facilitated 25 million dollars worth of trades on his first day on the job, and it just got more exciting from there. He soon joined a small group of expatriates, all in their twenties and mostly Ivy League graduates, who lived like rock stars, thriving on the stress and excitement of their jobs to create their own steroid versions of the American Dream half a world away. Mezrich tells this riveting story well, incorporating elements of the culture into his narrative, including the infamous and pervasive Japanese "Water Trade," or sex business, romantic intrigue, and even run-ins with the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia. Though there is little real analysis of their financial dealings and how they ultimately changed the rules of finance in Asia, this entertaining page turner does offer a glimpse into a world little explored in print until now. --<I>Shawn Carkonen</I> 1874015 2004 Ugly Americans: The True Story of the Ivy League Cowboys Who Raided the Asian Markets for Millions total:655|5:123|4:285|3:191|2:48|1:8| 655 2432 882 72 4 1 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jan 27 17:32:32 -0800 2008 Sat Aug 09 06:58:52 -0700 2008
Interesting book, perfect to eat up time on that flight to Japan.

Worthwhile and surely of interest to those intersted in Asia, finance, a blend of ...more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Feb 05 09:25:42 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 09:25:42 -0800 2009 Depending on your level of credulity, you may have trouble taking the subtitle of Ugly Americans seriously. Whether the story of Mezrich's Ivy League cowboys and their influence on the Asian stock market collapse is entirely true is something only he knows—and some reviewers doubt it. However, tha...

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The book is based on a true story, and is about an American kid--alias John Malcolm--who goes to Japan to work ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Aug 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 13:02:56 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 13:04:00 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Jul 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 29 14:39:28 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 29 14:43:27 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Fri Jun 12 15:15:19 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 15:17:31 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Wed Jan 28 20:00:52 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 28 20:02:25 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Mon Jan 26 01:15:40 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 01:16:07 -0800 2009 1 0 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Fri Jan 02 20:19:38 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 02 20:21:05 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Sat Jan 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 31 06:35:51 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 31 06:37:21 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Fri Aug 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 19:20:38 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 01 12:08:44 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu Nov 12 19:54:48 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 12 19:55:12 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Tue Jul 14 16:43:16 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 14 16:43:34 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=86161