First published 2009
Michael Lewis examines how financial markets repeatedly collapse when investors misjudge risk. He takes readers through five devastating market upheavals: Black Monday in 1987, Russia's debt default that destroyed Long-Term Capital Management, the 1999 Asian currency meltdown, the dot-com bubble burst, and the subprime mortgage crisis. Lewis shows what traders and investors believed during each crisis, then reveals what actually drove the disasters. He demonstrates how greed consistently blinds market participants to obvious dangers. The book combines Lewis's signature wit with sharp analysis of human behavior under financial pressure. Through vivid storytelling and contemporary accounts, Lewis reveals the recurring patterns that turn market optimism into catastrophe. His exploration of these five crises shows how the same mistakes repeat across different eras and markets.
Genres: business, economics, non-fiction, finance
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: greed, human-behavior
Period: 1987, 1999, 2000s
400 pages · Hardcover · Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.