I forget why I decided to reread The Big Short on short notice. It could have been that I felt like reading something short and entertaining after struggling with a few other books, both of which I ended up not finishing. I guess it takes a very specific type of person to consider The Big Short "entertaining" though. It's a dissection of the financial instruments that created the financial crisis in 2008 and a character study of the people, who saw it coming. Dozens of paragraphs are dedicated to describing how mortgage bonds, collateralized debt obligations and credit default swaps work. It's absolutely obligatory to understand these products to understand the inner workings of a bonkers financial system. It does mean, however, that some readers will be bored out of their minds by the technical aspects of the banking system.
Apparently that was never me; I've been fascinated by the financial sector for years, despite never working in it and only having taken a few introductory courses on the subject. I was in high school in 2008 and I distinctly remember reading news about the banks and companies that were going bankrupt all over the world. There was a finality in the air as no one really knew what part of the financial infrastructure would fail next. Even though I had no money at the time and didn't own a credit card - and had little to lose - the drama felt more real than wars in the Middle East or famine in North Korea. I've always found it difficult to explain why some things are compelling and others are not. Some interests seem ingrained and a fascination for financial markets seems to be (just one of) my soft spots.
Michael Lewis is, of course, a titan of the non-fiction journalistic take. It seems completely absurd that three of his to-the-point and unembellished books have become Hollywood movies starring actors like Brad Pitt (twice!) and Sandra Bullock. Today, people use the word Moneyball - the name of another Lewis book and movie combo - to describe the use of analytics and statistics in the management of sports teams. For years, his contributions have had an outsize impact on the intellectual community. His recent podcast "Against the Rules" proves the versatility of his approach. Fascinating and often oddball characters catch readers (and listeners) off guard. Simply guiding readers through theory rarely elicits strong reactions from a general audience. Lewis can address almost any topic on earth, no matter how complicated or obtuse, because he approaches it from a human point of view.
Having read most of his other work, I still consider The Big Short to be the crown jewel. It's relatable not only because it's characters are relatable, but because Lewis has an intimate and personal understanding of the industry and its problems. His prologue is not unlike the prologue in Slaughterhouse Five: it puts the author in the midst of a cataclysm that he knows is coming but cannot stop. Even now, we know that the global financial system is far from fixed. Over one trillion dollars of bad student debt has been handed out to Americans. Uber and Lyft have sold shares to the public at grossly inflated prices. European banks have been more than happy to launder money for Russian oligarchs. Any or all of these pieces may fall once the next catastrophe brings fear back into the market. When that day comes, Lewis is sure to be on the frontlines to explain where we, once again, went wrong.
Apparently that was never me; I've been fascinated by the financial sector for years, despite never working in it and only having taken a few introductory courses on the subject. I was in high school in 2008 and I distinctly remember reading news about the banks and companies that were going bankrupt all over the world. There was a finality in the air as no one really knew what part of the financial infrastructure would fail next. Even though I had no money at the time and didn't own a credit card - and had little to lose - the drama felt more real than wars in the Middle East or famine in North Korea. I've always found it difficult to explain why some things are compelling and others are not. Some interests seem ingrained and a fascination for financial markets seems to be (just one of) my soft spots.
Michael Lewis is, of course, a titan of the non-fiction journalistic take. It seems completely absurd that three of his to-the-point and unembellished books have become Hollywood movies starring actors like Brad Pitt (twice!) and Sandra Bullock. Today, people use the word Moneyball - the name of another Lewis book and movie combo - to describe the use of analytics and statistics in the management of sports teams. For years, his contributions have had an outsize impact on the intellectual community. His recent podcast "Against the Rules" proves the versatility of his approach. Fascinating and often oddball characters catch readers (and listeners) off guard. Simply guiding readers through theory rarely elicits strong reactions from a general audience. Lewis can address almost any topic on earth, no matter how complicated or obtuse, because he approaches it from a human point of view.
Having read most of his other work, I still consider The Big Short to be the crown jewel. It's relatable not only because it's characters are relatable, but because Lewis has an intimate and personal understanding of the industry and its problems. His prologue is not unlike the prologue in Slaughterhouse Five: it puts the author in the midst of a cataclysm that he knows is coming but cannot stop. Even now, we know that the global financial system is far from fixed. Over one trillion dollars of bad student debt has been handed out to Americans. Uber and Lyft have sold shares to the public at grossly inflated prices. European banks have been more than happy to launder money for Russian oligarchs. Any or all of these pieces may fall once the next catastrophe brings fear back into the market. When that day comes, Lewis is sure to be on the frontlines to explain where we, once again, went wrong.