'All That Glitters' is an absorbing, objective and necessary antidote to Leeson's own 'Rogue Trader', which, it would seem, was as misleading as it was readable. The authors don't take sides, though: while Leeson's account is largely discredited, the bank's management is far from exonerated and the book covers much more than the events that took place in Singapore.
As well as the drama of the abortive rescue attempt, we are shown the impressive history and unimpressive politics of Barings, yet none of this feels redundant. Leeson's lack of accountability flowed directly from Barings' divided and incoherent cultures, and managers were blind to the cash pouring out of the bank. This may have been more than greed and complacency: Barings, once a global player in merchant banking, had been falling badly behind since the war. Their apparently spectacular success in Singapore represented a chance to reclaim a painfully lost grandeur, and there was an institutional reluctance to ask questions.
Most of this book is a case study of mismanagement in a large organisation, with little that is unique to the finance sector. The research is thorough and the presentation by the authors, two journalists from London's Financial Times, is often gripping. There is a real sense of the heady rush of quick wealth and spiralling losses on a mid-nineties trading floor.
Naturally, much space is devoted to dissecting the activities of Nick Leeson, and here the sheer scope of his deceptive abilities becomes apparent. His own book makes a credible case that the losses arose from trading errors, and reached a monstrous scale through the unpredictable power of the futures markets. This would appear to be rather less than a half-truth: most of his losses were deliberately created and hidden so that he could offer better prices to customers, and so build his standing on the exchange.
The rest of the cast is enjoyably eclectic: testosterone soaked traders, ineffectual politicians and an oil-rich Sultan all make a play here, but it is the warring bankers within Barings that make this such a compelling and vivid tale.
And this is the book's real strength. By letting the story drive the narrative, it can be authoritative without sacrificing readability. It avoids sensationalism and projects integrity - that it is an entertaining and satisfying read as well is a bonus.
