Charles Gasparino

An Age-Old Tale Told by New Characters

I hate to sound like a cynic, but this book contains nothing new.

It is a tale of research analysts, devoid of ethical standards; driven by greedy investment bankers – I know phrase is redundant –; commanded by serial-acquiring megalomaniacs; regulated by people who would not recognize a fraud if they stepped in it; and tripped up by a publicity-seeking politician with an eye on higher office.

The latest chapter took place during the booming 1990s. show more Along the way millions of individual investors made and lost billions as they were skewered in the intoxicating tale. Gasparino, to his credit, tells the tale well. His research and interviews, largely compiled while a Wall Street Journal reporter assigned to the story, bring fresh insights to this age-old tale of greed, arrogance and street-business-as-usual.

His access to dispositions, e-mail exchanges and documents help the reader capture the out-of-control personalities of the characters involved in this tale.

If you invest with the idea that your broker is your best friend, you need to read this book. Greed is Wall Street’s only constant and the markets and brokerage firms are there only to take your money away.

If that is cynicism, so be it. I paid for it at bloodlettings long before the Internet boom and bust. show less

I have a lot of books on the 2008 crash, and what's interesting about them is that they're all subtly different in emphasis. This one is particularly critical of Merrill Lynch and Stan O'Neal, which other books are not, and I found it quite intriguing in that respect. A lot of the analysis is analysis you'll get in other places (this book came out not too long after the events), but the different angle is what you get here.

Sometimes you meet someone new and things just click, his or her basic humanity appeals to you and you know you could be the closest of buddies. None of the characters you meet in this expose will cause even a frisson of recognition and if you do recognize a kindred spirit, be sure I don't want to know you. But then, you wouldn't care anyway, because you're either concerned about being elected or which hand to use to move the puppet. . Jeff Dunham's Ahmed's death threats, at least, are show more funny; Gasparino's description of the antics of the puppets in Washington and the puppet masters on Wall Street will scare you to death because there's no cure. show less

Loosely written brief history of corporate wokeness. Covers a lot of the usuals, e.g., the Budweiser fiasco, the Target boycott, the travails of Disney (which at this date has lost its special economic status in Florida, I believe). Ends with the purchase of Twitter, but without any interesting conclusions. Concludes, correctly, that people voted for Trump because they hated Democrat policies and being talked down to by Democrat politicians and their minions, not that much out of a fondness show more for Trump. show less