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Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System---and Themselves |  | Author: Andrew Ross Sorkin
Publisher: Viking Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $32.95
Buy New: $12.99
as of 11/21/2009 01:50 MST details
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Seller: Jettaben Books
Rating:  43 reviews
Sales Rank: 34
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 624
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.7
ISBN: 0670021253
Dewey Decimal Number: 330.9730931
EAN: 9780670021253
ASIN: 0670021253
Publication Date: October 20, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
A real-life thriller about the most tumultuous period in America’s financial history by an acclaimed New York Times Reporter
Andrew Ross Sorkin delivers the first true behind-the-scenes, moment-by-moment account of how the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression developed into a global tsunami. From inside the corner office at Lehman Brothers to secret meetings in South Korea, and the corridors of Washington, Too Big to Fail is the definitive story of the most powerful men and women in finance and politics grappling with success and failure, ego and greed, and, ultimately, the fate of the world’s economy.
“We’ve got to get some foam down on the runway!” a sleepless Timothy Geithner, the then-president of the Federal Reserve of New York, would tell Henry M. Paulson, the Treasury secretary, about the catastrophic crash the world’s financial system would experience.
Through unprecedented access to the players involved, Too Big to Fail re-creates all the drama and turmoil, revealing never disclosed details and elucidating how decisions made on Wall Street over the past decade sowed the seeds of the debacle. This true story is not just a look at banks that were “too big to fail,” it is a real-life thriller with a cast of bold-faced names who themselves thought they were too big to fail.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 43
 Interesting, though poorly written November 21, 2009
Paul Johnson
If you are looking for a decent insight as to what happened to the financial world 12 months ago, this is not a bad place to start. It seems to be relatively well researched as to the details of the problems we faced, and I would say I learned a lot.
That said, this is not a book without it's problems. The author seems far too impressed with the power many of the Wall Street bankers have, and is somewhat sycophantic towards them. There are some awful passages where he attempts to set the scene by explaining things like the cars they have, or the watches they wear. It's as if he is sucking up to them.
One other criticism, for those of us that read the Kindle version, it is riddled with typographical errors. There were multiple places where text was repeated for no reason, and the justification of the text was frequently wrong. I expect better.
 Gold Standard on the Meltdown November 21, 2009
Tobycat (Martinsville, NJ)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Andrew Ross Sorkin has delivered the gold standard in reporting on the financial meltdown. His detailed accounts of meetings and conversations between key players in the crises indicates that his depth and breadth of contacts far exceeded other writers who have tackled this subject. His research and insight into provide the reader with a sense of being there and the excitement builds throughout the entire 600+ pages.
If you are looking for an education and detailed description of not only what happened but, why it happened and the behind the scenes machinations that went on to mitigate the damage, this is the definitive tome.
I've read all the current books on this subject. This is the book to have.
A Monumental, Enthralling Work November 18, 2009
Michael K. Crowley
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is the most relentless, thrilling book about finance and business I have read since Lowenstein's "When Genius Failed" ten or so years ago.
Throughout the financial crisis of 2008, my father and I would sit around wondering what was really going on behind the scenes, and this hour-by-hour account of those searing weeks answers the question.
Some have criticized the amount of detail in this book--I love the nuance and detail in this book. To me, it does matter if Paulson was too nervous to touch his food. These details are what make these people come to life.
A tremendous work.
 Almost Truthful for a NYT Writer November 18, 2009
DGS Florida
1 out of 7 found this review helpful
I must admit the liberal bias in this book is much harder to decipher as compared to your standard NYT article, as Sorkin presents his bias in the most subtle of terms. The author finds little fault with any of the Democrats involved in the story, but is out front with his criticism of the Bush Administration as "failed". Persons such as Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi come off as straight-shooters when most of the American public rate their performance as abysmal (about 80% at last count). For example, when Pelosi personally derailed the initial attempt to pass the TARP legislation by personally attacking Bush and his policies (although the Democrats had controlled Congress for more than 2 years), Sorkin makes little mention of how stupid her actions were, nor does he make any attempt to explain why this happened.
The book does however give a good feeling about what power a small number of Wall Street elite yields over our country. Paulson and Geithner certainly helped their buddies out a great deal at our expense if the entire book is to be believed.
A Real Page Turner November 18, 2009
Alan (Minnesota)
This is an excellent book that reads like something that Dan Brown might have written. But its real. The part that amazed me was the level of detail Sorkin was able to get about behind the scenes conversations that took place. Stuff about how people such as Dick Fuld of Lehman reacted to the problems when it was becoming clear that the company was going down and he was in denial. How Paulson was reacting to things when there were no rules about what to do.
But probably the most interesting parts were how the different personalities were reacting while the ground was shifting under them. At the peak, many of the people involved were literally working 24 hours a day highlighted by a phone call made to Vikram Pandit, CEO of Citibank at 3 am telling how a deal he made at midnight for Wachovia had instead been trumped by another and that that deal had already been signed and blessed by the government. How major decisions were being made on the run and how solid institutions became institutions on the brink in a matter of hours.
The book also explains how companies like Barclays and China Investment Corporation were working behind the scenes as well how Paulson, Geithener and others in the government were scrambling to keep things from collapsing. There is a lot of Monday Morning Quarterbacking going on and some of the things these people did may not have been the best, but they pulled it off and we should all be grateful.
But there some bad guys, namely the short sellers and as usual some in congress. The book makes clear that out of control short selling added fuel to the flames that were occurring and that when we were facing this emergency some members of Congress were focused on their own butt instead of doing what was needed.
There is a huge cast in this book and its is sometimes hard to keep the people and their roles straight, but make the effort. You will be rewarded.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 43
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