Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System--and Themselves

The litany of books on the 2008 economic crisis covers a lot of ground. There are a plethora of good books that have come out thus far (and plenty of bad ones). My reading has already taken me through some books that I find dangerous in their ideology, but also some that are remarkably astute. What I have not come across until this latest addition to the series is a book that was nearly impossible to put down. Andrew Ross Sorkin's Too Big to Fail put an end to that. While I have over a dozen books to complete still in this project, and am backed up more than that with books I have completed but not yet reviewed, I can safely say that no book will prove to be as much fun to read as Sorkin's. I recommend it for any reader who has the ability to take down over 500 pages of a brilliantly-written suspense thriller. Sorkin's book does something that very few books written about the crisis will be able to do: It narrates a series of events with virtually no ideology or partisanship whatsoever. I can honestly say that after finishing the book I still had no idea what Sorkin believes about the TARP bill, the nature of Wall Street, the role of lawmakers in causing the collapse, the merit (or lack thereof) of the Federal Reserve's response to the crisis, etc. Sorkin tells the story of the events leading up to, and immediately following, last September's week from hell (the week that included the bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers, the government bailout of AIG, and the emergency sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America). Intertwined with the narratives of that fateful week, Sorkin incorporates extensive biographies of the lead characters including Henry Paulson, Tim Geithner, Richard Fuld, Ken Lewis, Jamie Dimon, Lloyd Blankfein, and many others. By the time I was done with the book I felt like I knew the characters personally. His research is comprehensive and his list of sources unmatched. No major character in this story has come forward to deny his version of any of the major stories. Whether someone is a hopeless obsessive of these events (like me) or not, the book is wildly entertaining, completely fascinating, and extremely well-told. I do have to interact with the events described in this book at some point, and I intend to do so in greater detail when my review series is complete. I do not accept any version of the 2008 catastrophe that either totally villainizes Henry Paulson, or totally vindicates him. My interest in this review series is ideological: I believe that the Libertarian-anarchist crowd, and even more disturbingly the Keynesian-leftist crowd, have axes to grind in their portrayal of the crisis that must not be left unaddressed. Sorkin's book does not pose any such problems. The complex issues he addresses require an economic thinker like myself to formulate opinions, but he does so without poisoning the well. I did not complete this behemoth book with any more clarity about the propriety of TARP, the role of short sellers in the financial crisis, or the moral hazard embedded in much of Uncle Sam's reaction to the crisis. But what I did get out of reading this is an incredible amount of color on all the aforementioned issues (and others) that I desperately needed. The proper ideological commentary on September of 2008 is coming, but in the meantime, kudos to Andrew Ross Sorking for not attempting to provide that commentary, and instead providing me 550 pages of reading bliss.

“Too Big to Fail” is an altogether excellent book by financial journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin. It’s a compelling narrative that tells the story of how the nation’s largest and most prestigious financial institutions came to the brink of collapse – and almost took the entire economy with them – in the great economic crisis of 2008. According to Sorkin, the financial downturn that occurred in the summer of 2008 was actually years in the making. Many of the nation’s greatest investment banks, along with their commercial bank counterparts, had been busily dealing in high-risk subprime mortgages for years. As long as demand for housing remained high, so did housing prices; however, when massive numbers of people began defaulting on mortgages they could no longer afford, the housing market suddenly crashed, credit froze up, and banks began to fail… …Thus begins the story of America’s economic meltdown in the late summer and early autumn of 2008. With the collapse of the housing markets, many of America’s oldest and greatest investment banks – among them Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Morgan Stanley – also find themselves threatened by total failure. So do commercial banks like Citigroup, Wachovia, and Bank of America; insurance companies like AIG; and the two government sponsored mortgage guarantors (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). Now, U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner, Congress, and other government regulators must find a way to save these financial institutions from ruin. If they don’t, America faces the very real possibility that its entire economic system may collapse… I read “Too Big to Fail” not long after watching the HBO movie upon which it’s based. I was actually very impressed by how well written this book is. Andrew Ross Sorkin is a highly knowledgeable financial journalist who is also a very gifted storyteller. He writes with prose that is both clear and concise. He makes highly complex financial matters easy to understand by explaining them with a minimum of technical jargon. His portraits of the key players in the drama – Hank Paulson, Tim Geithner, Dick Fuld, Chris Flowers, and Erin Callan, among others – are unbiased, allowing readers to form their own judgments about them. Best of all, Sorkin avoids making “Too Big to Fail” a political treatise, focusing instead on the efforts of government officials and Wall Street executives to bring the nation back from the precipice of financial disaster. “Too Big to Fail” is actually quite a page-turner. Sorkin tells his story in a crisp, fast-paced narrative style that’s never boring. Overall, I found it a very enjoyable and informative reading experience. Highly recommended.

A non-fiction book that is fast paced and gives you a feel of a thriller. All the people in positions of power in government and the banks are explained nicely.

I find this an unbiased and very detailed account on the actions taken after the subprime crisis by the U.S. government and the top players in Wall Street.

Ok

Great book!!! If you’re interested in business. This book is for you

Brilliantly written An amazing and simple reading on a very complicate subject. Mr. Sorkin focus on the people involved leaving out technicalities which, for the wide public, are boring and incomprehensible. He describes the very “moguls” of finance, investment bankers and traders – once called the masters of universe – with all of their human features, doubts and frailties. Another masterpiece on the way unfettered capitalism went wrong in the last 40 years.