Sathnam Sanghera, The Times
How I Caused the Credit Crunch is worth reading
Creditflux
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By PawelMorski
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A tricky one this. If you read it, you will get a very good sense of how we ended up in this mess. Mr Ishikawa is glib, plausible, cunning and has the insight of the average carpet - ideally qualified for the task of shovelling tons of dreck to 'investors' who didn't understand what they were getting into. His account never attempts to rise above the ground-level view to the damage being done to the financial system, but surely there's a value to an account of the nuts and bolts? That said, the author's self absorption going on narcissism is teeth-grinding, and it's nauseating to think of him getting any richer. Buy it second-hand.
38 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I saw the author speak on a panel with Martin Bell and the Sunday Times Economics Editor at the literary festival in Oxford and decided to pick up a copy because even though I disagreed with him, he is certainly a sharp and knowledgable guy, as you would expect of a former Goldman Sachs banker. And I'm glad I did. I don't usually write reviews but this was such a good book, I thought it warranted it. It's not that it's a masterpiece but I couldn't put it down because it really is one of the best banking books I've ever read. I read Cityboy once but this was funnier, and had the advantage that you really do learn things about the Credit Crunch. His stories may be crass but his writing isn't, which makes them very funny. Also they don't come across as exaggerated which Cityboy often did.
His explanations of things like CDOs and MBS are also very well done and he makes it simple for anyone to understand how they work and why they were created in the first place. The best was his explanation of correlation trading using an example of a six year old girl... and he maps out all the events that happened in a way that makes it easy to understand what role they played in the sequence of events that led to the credit crunch. But he does this without once becoming academic - it's all part of the story so it doesn't get boring anywhere. His final story just had me laughing uncontrollably!
If you want a good read, which is fun, light and easy but informative on the Credit Crunch, this is definitely the one to buy.
His explanations of things like CDOs and MBS are also very well done and he makes it simple for anyone to understand how they work and why they were created in the first place. The best was his explanation of correlation trading using an example of a six year old girl... and he maps out all the events that happened in a way that makes it easy to understand what role they played in the sequence of events that led to the credit crunch. But he does this without once becoming academic - it's all part of the story so it doesn't get boring anywhere. His final story just had me laughing uncontrollably!
If you want a good read, which is fun, light and easy but informative on the Credit Crunch, this is definitely the one to buy.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By DOPPLEGANGER
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was, mistakenly as it turns out, under the impression that this book was an actual account with real people, of the part reckless casino type wheeling-and-dealing on the back of idiocy in the mortgage markets, had on inflicting mayhem and meltdown to the global financial markets. I soon discovered it wasn't and fictitious names had been given to all mentioned on the grounds of avoiding embarrassment to those involved.
There have been many good and not so good books covering this shameful debacle in the past few years in which just about every character involved, (and their every dastardly, slipshod and negligent business practice exposed, discussed and analysed almost endlessly), has been named and in many cases shamed. So why the coyness here? Why was this attempt made to give anonymity to a selected bunch of friends and colleagues? I am not aware of any other serious commentator on this subject matter having granted anonymity to those involved. I find that 'some part' fact and 'some part' fiction not conducive to credibility.
And what is the generic name of this hybrid of 'actuality' and 'opus of imagination'? 'FacFic', 'FicFac' or ''Fac'n'Fic", perhaps, but all best said slowly. And, in which book list would it appear under, 'Fiction', 'Non-Fiction' or a new classification 'Non-Fiction-Fiction'?
I am afraid that as soon as I realised that Mr Ishikawa (if that is actually his name) was on an 'anonymity kick' my interest waned very quickly although I did read some of the authors explanation of derivative forms and found them to be as well and even better explained than attempts in some other books and for that alone I arrive at a 2 star rating.
There have been many good and not so good books covering this shameful debacle in the past few years in which just about every character involved, (and their every dastardly, slipshod and negligent business practice exposed, discussed and analysed almost endlessly), has been named and in many cases shamed. So why the coyness here? Why was this attempt made to give anonymity to a selected bunch of friends and colleagues? I am not aware of any other serious commentator on this subject matter having granted anonymity to those involved. I find that 'some part' fact and 'some part' fiction not conducive to credibility.
And what is the generic name of this hybrid of 'actuality' and 'opus of imagination'? 'FacFic', 'FicFac' or ''Fac'n'Fic", perhaps, but all best said slowly. And, in which book list would it appear under, 'Fiction', 'Non-Fiction' or a new classification 'Non-Fiction-Fiction'?
I am afraid that as soon as I realised that Mr Ishikawa (if that is actually his name) was on an 'anonymity kick' my interest waned very quickly although I did read some of the authors explanation of derivative forms and found them to be as well and even better explained than attempts in some other books and for that alone I arrive at a 2 star rating.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Blinded by Jargon .....
bought this having thoroughly enjoyed both city boy/girl & binge trading. Unfortunately this book was more of a tecnical read best suited to finance students as the technical... Read more
Published on 19 April 2011 by Mr Q
1.0 out of 5 stars
Beyond dreadful
With a subject like this, who could go wrong? Sadly the author of this appalling novel. The writing is indescribably bad, the characters two dimensional and the long boring... Read more
Published on 21 Feb 2011 by Booklover
1.0 out of 5 stars
Poorly written cash-in
I too am surprised by the number of positive reviews this book has collected. This is a very poor read. Read more
Published on 29 Dec 2010 by Siupakcat
1.0 out of 5 stars
Terrible
Being an accounting student, thought I should have some idea about the credit crunch - and I don't know if it was just me, but found it completely useless in that sense. Read more
Published on 1 Oct 2010 by Alina
4.0 out of 5 stars
no surprised we crashed
seems that the way the finacial markets are set means we are set for a recession every 5 to 10,15 years. Read more
Published on 1 Oct 2010 by angelo100966
3.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining and slightly informative.
I'm not sure what the author was trying to achieve in this book. On one hand it is meant to be an expose' of the financial market over a period and on the other it tries to be a... Read more
Published on 30 Sep 2010 by Steadygo
1.0 out of 5 stars
Seriously... really..... are you kidding?
I have never written an Amazon review before, however this book annoyed me so much I had to warn others. Read more
Published on 8 Sep 2010 by Josh Smith
3.0 out of 5 stars
Book review
After reading 15 books about the American financial catastrophe, including Too Big To Fail, Free Fall, The Big Short and The End of Wall Street, I wanted to understand a bit more... Read more
Published on 4 Sep 2010 by Emanuel Sarfaty
1.0 out of 5 stars
Utterly dreadful
This 'book' is considerably worse than 'Binge Trading' and that says it all.
Prepare to be bored by tedious trips to strip clubs; tedious twaddle about Ferraris and Porsches;... Read more
Prepare to be bored by tedious trips to strip clubs; tedious twaddle about Ferraris and Porsches;... Read more
Published on 12 May 2010 by Justice Peace
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great story
Great storry - based on fact, easy for a reasonably interested and intelligent non-banker to read. Enjoyable and fun and you'll learn many a thing as well. Recommended.
Published on 18 April 2010 by Mr. Nicholas Copeland
Popular Highlights
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"Ben, money comes and goes. Lifestyle comes and stays. I don't need a bigger credit limit, so why would I have it?"
Highlighted by 13 Kindle users
The ones that do get paid the most are the ones who make sure they get paid the most. That's what it means to be a successful banker.'
Highlighted by 10 Kindle users
'They bought insurance on all the loans,' Mike explained, sitting on the edge of his desk with his feet up on the chair. The 'synthetic' component became clear. The loan stayed on the balance sheet but the risk was transferred off it with the client never having to know.
Highlighted by 9 Kindle users
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