Genre: Nonfiction
Length: 291 pages
Audiobook Length: 9 hours and 27 minutes
First Published: 2010
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Publisher’s Description
The real story of the crash began in bizarre feeder markets where the sun doesn’t shine and the SEC doesn’t dare, or bother, to tread: the bond and real estate derivative markets where geeks invent impenetrable securities to profit from the misery of lower- and middle-class Americans who can’t pay their debts. The smart people who understood what was or might be happening were paralyzed by hope and fear; in any case, they weren’t talking.
Michael Lewis creates a fresh, character-driven narrative brimming with indignation and dark humor, a fitting sequel to his #1 bestseller Liar’s Poker. Out of a handful of unlikely-really unlikely-heroes, Lewis fashions a story as compelling and unusual as any of his earlier bestsellers, proving yet again that he is the finest and funniest chronicler of our time.
Quotes from The Big Short
Success was individual achievement; failure was a social problem.
How do you make poor people feel wealthy when wages are stagnant? You give them cheap loans.
That was the problem with money: What people did with it had consequences, but they were so remote from the original action that the mind never connected the one with the other.
A Home without Equity Is Just a Rental with Debt
What are the odds that people will make smart decisions about money if they don’t need to make smart decisions—if they can get rich making dumb decisions?
Movie Trailer for The Big Short (2015)
About Michael Lewis
Michael Lewis is a bestselling nonfiction author and a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. His works include The Fifth Risk, Flash Boys, The Big Short, The Blind Side, and Moneyball. He grew up in New Orleans and currently lives in Berkley, California. Visit the author’s website →