Name: House of Cards
Rating: 4 (4 reviews)
ISBN: 9780385528269

William D. Cohan

A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street

House of Cards

Greg Talbot

As Robert Schiller wrote in Irrational Excuberance, when you look at what Americans were reading in the 1930s, there was a critical focus on books and writings about the economy and how the run on the banks had unfolded. Starting in the beginning we see where the dust has settled and JP Morgan has bought out the remaining equity from the former premier bank Bear Sterns. What Cohen brings is the inner storm; the restless economic changes throughout Sterns run, and the ferocious battle their leaders fought through. Then Cohen dives into the 80 year history of it’s leadership. Showcasing the brilliant smoothness of Greenwald, and his role in expanding Bears reach as a major playor into the 1980s, and is somewhat acrimonious with the dogged Cayne. Their gamesmanship, penchant for bridge and risk and personal foibles are all on display here. <br /><br /> What I took away from this book is that instability rocked Wall Street in the mid 00’s in a way that no one really predicted (even if Goldman Sachs put shorts against the CDOs they were selling to profit from the bear market). This unprecedented housing bubble and unmitigated failure to put safeguards is largely responsible for the crisis we are in today. I can’t claim to fully understand all the financial terminology, but I took away a strong sense of the stakes that the firm encountered. The book ends with a pessimism of King Lear proportion, with Schwartz, one of Sterns leaders, forecasting the abyss the world finds itself racked into.<br />

Morgan Holland

Robert Yang

Zane Shannon

Alexander Lobov

Chronicles the fall of Bear Stearns, portraying the players and factors that ultimately led to the collapse of the global financial markets.

House of Cards A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street

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