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|  | Author: William D. Cohan
Publisher: Doubleday
List Price: $27.95
Buy Used: $5.50
as of 11/24/2009 20:28 CST details
You Save: $22.45 (80%)
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Seller: lafriendsofthelibrary
Rating:  78 reviews
Sales Rank: 2566
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Edition: First Edition
Pages: 480
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6 x 1.3
ISBN: 0385528264
Dewey Decimal Number: 332.660973
EAN: 9780385528269
ASIN: 0385528264
Publication Date: March 10, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Ex-Lib copy with mylar cover and stamps - interior shows moderate reading wear -Sales benefit the Los Altos, CA Library - free tracking & ins - box 7
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 78
 Story from the top of Bear Stearns, not enough context September 7, 2009
Richard Gibson (Woodland Hills, CA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In this book, William D. Cohan tells the story of the rise and fall of Bear Stearns. He inverts the order, however. The way he does it, we first get the story of the fall of Bear, Stearns, its last days. We then get the story of the rise of Bear Stearns, its early beginnings and the way it prospered for so many years.
It is a clever writing strategy, and it makes a long book far more readable than it would otherwise be. I, for one, would not have stuck it out for several hundred pages of the early history of Bear, had I been hit with it right at the start of the book. But, since the start of the book was all of the drama of the last days, it gave the book enough momentum that I read the whole thing.
The most valuable part of this book, in my opinion, is the very detailed account of just exactly how Bear went down the drain, how the bail out deal was arranged and all of that. Cohan gives the reader a very detailed view of those events. I found that very helpful.
Cohan's camera angle, however, is very tight. You see the detailed events unfold. You see the personalities and the ego clashes. What you do not see is much context. What, exactly, did Bear Stearns do for a living? You get some sense of that, but not too much. What caused Bear to go do the drain? Again, you get some sense of that, but not much.
So, if you are looking for an explanation of the crisis, this is not your book. If you are tremendously interested in Bear Stearns and its history, you will love this book. I am more interested in the big picture than in the details of Bear, so I am less than enthusiastic about this book.
An Interesting Look at the Seedy Underbelly of Wall Street September 6, 2009
J. Canestrino (Lodi, CA United States)
The first third of the book or so deals with the last few days of Bear Stearns and their ultimate demise. The author then goes back and introduces the characters and describes the main players and the history of the firm. Certainly, the characters and the history are interesting. The arrogance and greed of the people involved is appalling. All of the jargon and the author's partial attempt to explain how Wall St. structures, finances and markets various forms of debt is, quite frankly, a bit confusing and boring. The financial instistutions have made things so complex that I am absolutely certain no one in the company understands how all of it works, let alone the congressman and government employees who are responsible for oversight and regulation. The other thing that is made clear is that many of the main players move back and forth seamlessly from managing large firms, to the Federal Reserve to the Dept. of Treasury and back again. Want to fix the financial system? It will have to made much less complex so that it is much more transparent to regulators and auditors and clean house at the Fed and DOT to remove all conflicts of interest.
 Very good August 29, 2009
Ivan
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Cohan's House of Cards is a very interesting and detailed account on the reasons behind the infamous Bear Sterns meltdown. His narrative mainly consists of interviewing direct participants with Jimmy Cayne, the former head of Bear, obviously being the most prominent figure.
In the first part of his book, Cohan takes a micro approach, giving the reader an almost hour-by-hour description of the events that led up to the now iconic $2 per share sale of Bear to JPMorgan. In the second part, Cohan takes more of a macro approach, going all the way back to the founding days of Bear and taking the reader through all the major events in the firm's history as well in the lives of those at the helm.
Positives:
What the book does well is provide a very good human angle on the high profile lives of Bear's as well as general Wall Street senior managers. Despite the words "wretched excess" in the title, bashing Wall Street execs is really not the main focus of the book. In fact, I felt that Cohan did a good job staying away from demonizing individuals and from putting on black and white looking glass. I think he provides fair criticism where it's due and backs it up with sufficient evidence such as with the case of Bear Sterns Hedge Fund management. The overall story of the book flows very well, almost like a novel and I never felt like I was reading a non-fiction finance book - there were times where I couldn't put it down.
Negatives:
Cohan does not do a sufficient job explaining some of the financial terms. Upon the introduction of a term, he would give a very superficial explanation for it and then go on using it throughout the book as if the reader now has complete and full understanding of that concept. Basically, I had to look up all the finance terms he mentioned independently on Wikipedia. I know that explaining collateral debt obligations or credit default swaps in dry and boring detail is not the point of the book, but the reader must ascertain a solid understanding of these terms in order to follow some of the points Cohan is trying to make.
Overall:
This is a very interesting and detailed story of not only the collapse of Bear but the general history of the firm, people involved as well as the general Wall Street culture. It's very readable and has a good flow. The biggest criticism is that not enough explanation is given for technical financial concepts - hence 4 stars.
Wall Street's Wretched Misadventure August 28, 2009
Larry Underwood (Scottsdale, AZ)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
William D Cohan's inside tale of Bear Stearns' inevitable downfall was written in a manic & somewhat erratic manner; but certainly as entertaining as any book I've yet to read which unravels what went wrong on Wall Street. It's no surprise that greed & hubris once again take the prize as "most culpable factor" in the entire messy scenario.
Without the somewhat sensational style of writing, some of the events may have been difficult to digest; certainly, this is no book for the layman to grab & easily comprehend. Yet, the essence of the book was compelling and that made up for any looseness the reader may experience with some of the jargon.
It's been nearly a year and a half since this horrific house of cards came crashing down, and it's apparent to this reader that the power brokers on Wall Street as well as the heavy hitters in Washington aren't nearly as competent as they once seemed a decade earlier. It's going to take a long time for our financial plight to become righted; and going forward, investors will have a difficult time trusting anyone in the main stream of economic culture.
Cohan did a nice job of bringing this story together, and painted a good picture of Wall Street's wretched misadventure of greed & hubris. Let's hope this never happens again.
 Inside saga of Bear Stearns's dazzling rise and dramatic, abrupt decline August 19, 2009
Rolf Dobelli (Switzerland)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The 2008 collapse of leading Wall Street investment house Bear Stearns showed the world just how rickety the global financial system had become. William D. Cohan tracks the firm's dizzying rise and rapid collapse. His access to Bear Stearns insiders is the book's strongest point. He offers a trenchant analysis of its decades-long rise and a definitive account of its final days. Cohan paints textured portraits of Bear's top people, though he isn't especially interested in translating their Wall Street jargon for lay readers. He lets his sources speak in their own patois. getAbstract recommends this book to business history buffs, investors and managers seeking perspective on a spectacular failure.
Showing reviews 6-10 of 78
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