Liar's Poker
Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street
by Michael Lewis, Blanca Ribera de Madariaga · first published 1989
47% recommend48% neutral5% critical
Why HN recommends it
Engaging first-person account of Salomon Brothers' trading floor in the 1980s, showing how mortgage securitization took off and what Wall Street culture was like. Suits readers with only a passing interest in finance.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Liar's Poker is a non-fiction, semi-autobiographical book by Michael Lewis describing the author's experiences as a bond salesman on Wall Street during the late 1980s. First published in 1989, it is considered one of the books that defined Wall Street during the 1980s. This bestselling and hilarious book blew the doors off Wall Street's boardrooms and introduced the world to the writing of Michael Lewis. In this shrewd and wickedly funny book, Michael Lewis describes an astonishing era and his own rake's progress through a powerful investment bank. From an unlikely beginning (art history at
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If you think this stuff is interesting from both a "what the hell is going on here" standpoint and a "no, really, what's it like in an investment bank?" standpoint, read Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis. It's a pretty interesting look at Wall Street in the late 80's, and it does a good job of avoiding an outright demonization of the industry while offering an honest appraisal. As an…
on “Intern’s death puts banking culture under microscope” ↗This article doesn't even answer its own question of "how". For those interested in the topic, I highly recommend Connie Bruick's Predators' Ball and Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis. > Adam Smith, the father of modern capitalism I hope we can stop conflating free markets for capitalism. Capitalism is to free markets what communism is to socialism. Adam Smith was…
on “How Big Banks Became Our Masters” ↗I re-read Michael Lewis' Liar's Poker once every few years. In new reprints he's added a prologue where he says something along the lines of "I tried to write a book about the horrors of wall street and instead it became a recruiting tool…
on “Almost 80% of Private Day Traders Lose Money” ↗If you're interested in reading some more about the collapse of LTCM, I recommend When Genius Failed by Roger Lowenstein (for a fuller appreciation, read Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis first). If you're interested in reading an excellent account of a startup HFT/hedge fund, it's worth ordering a secondhand copy of The Predictors by Thomas Bass (for a fuller appreciation,…
on “What are hedge funds, and what social functions do they serve?” ↗…From Graham to Buffett and Beyond Henwood, Doug (1997) Wall Street: How It Works and for Whom Levitt, Arthur (2003) Take on the Street: How to Fight for Your Financial Future Lewis, Michael (1989) Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street _________ (2010) Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine STATISTICS Ayres, Ian (2007) Super Crunchers: Why Thinking by Numbers is the New Way to Be Smart…
on “Ask HN: What are the must-read books about economics/finance?” ↗…you make risky bets directly. So instead, you make risky bets indirectly through instruments specifically engineered to game the risk management system. It's nothing new. Michael Lewis' excellent book "Liar's Poker" describes how Solomon Brothers invented ways to obtain triple-A credit ratings for incredibly risky forex trades so that they could be sold to S&L's with strict rules about the credit-worthiness of their…
on “How Wall Street Lied to Its Computers” ↗…be gained. Here are some non-technical books I'd like to read: * How to Read a Book - http://amazon.com/dp/0671212095 * Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion - http://amazon.com/dp/006124189X * Liar's Poker - http://amazon.com/dp/0140143459 * Growing a Business - http://amazon.com/dp/0671671642
on “Ask YC: Let's start a Hacker News book club” ↗…account about the high-finance industry. MOLLY'S GAME BY MOLLY BLOOM -It was an entertaining, quick-paced read about the private, high-stakes poker industry with an assortment of participants. MONEYBALL, LIAR'S POKER & THE BIG SHORT BY MICHAEL LEWIS -I thought they were all entertaining reads, while also being insightful about their respective subjects. STEVE JOBS BY WALTER ISAACSON -It was an illuminating read…
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books of all time, and why?” ↗…referees are changing, and in some cases, outright disappearing. Fascinating stuff from an author who really knows how to tell an engaging story about a potentially dry topic. (Moneyball, The Big Short, Liar's Poker, etc.) [1] https://atrpodcast.com/ [2] https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/776.Michael_Lewis
on “The Lonely Work of Moderating Hacker News” ↗Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl (1946). A close runner up might be Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis (1989).
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗The New New Thing Founders at Work Hackers and Painters How To Get Rich Competitive Strategies The Intelligent Investor (or Security Analysis) Liar's Poker
on “Best Books For a Startup?” ↗Second this. I'm a huge Michael Lewis fan. If you enjoyed this, I would recommend reading (in the following order): - Liar's Poker. Lewis' account of how the bond market really got huge in the 80's. The book that put him on the map. He was a bond salesman in Solomon Brothers investment bank, a really interesting read with many larger…
on “Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011” ↗…do. For everyone else: I've worked in the financial markets for over a decade, I'm an ex-trader who used to deal with hedge funds like (and including) George Soros's Quantum Fund. My advice is to read Liar's Poker first.
on “What are hedge funds, and what social functions do they serve?” ↗…Buffett and Beyond Henwood, Doug (1997) Wall Street: How It Works and for Whom Levitt, Arthur (2003) Take on the Street: How to Fight for Your Financial Future Lewis, Michael (2010/1989) Big Short; Liar's Poker Lynch, Peter and John Rothchild (2000) One Up on Wall Street, 2nd ed. Mishkin, Frederic (2004) Economics of Money, Banking and Financial Markets, 7th ed. Taleb, Nassim Nicholas (2005/10) Fooled by…
on “Ask HN: Book recommendations for understanding financial systems?” ↗…would be simply a wrong assumption, IMHO. Aren't we all aware as to how Wall Street or any big business in the West hires? cough "Business Networking" cough I guess a good read in this regard would be 'Liar's Poker' or 'The Big Short' by Michael Lewis. [1] There have been corporations(might not be in the truest sense, but a collective of skilled workers with a common directive nonetheless) in India which have achieved…
on “Why I stopped being a voluntourist ” ↗