A Colossal Failure of Common Sense: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Leh man Brothers

McDonald, Lawrence G.

ISBN 10: 0307588343 / ISBN 13: 9780307588340

Published by The Crown Publishing Group, US, 2010

About this Item

A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. A Colossal Failure of Common Sense: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Leh man Brothers by Lawrence G. McDonald, Patrick Robinson One of the biggest questions of the financial crisis has not been answered until now. What happened at Lehman Brothers and why was it allowed to fail, with aftershocks that rocked the global economy? In this news-making, ofte n astonishing book, a former Lehman Brothers Vice President gives us the st raight answers-right from the belly of the beast. In A Colossal Failure of Common Sense, Larry McDonald, a Wall Street inside r, reveals, the culture and unspoken rules of the game like no book has eve r done. The book is couched in the very human story of Larry McDonald's Hor atio Alger-like rise from a Massachusetts "gateway to nowhere" housing proj ect to the New York headquarters of Lehman Brothers, home of one of the wor ld's toughest trading floors. We get a close-up view of the participants in the Lehman collapse, especial ly those who saw it coming with a helpless, angry certainty. We meet the Br ahmins at the top, whose reckless, pedal-to-the-floor addiction to growth f inally demolished the nation's oldest investment bank. The Wall Street we e ncounter here is a ruthless place, where brilliance, arrogance, ambition, g reed, capacity for relentless toil, and other human traits combine in a pot ent mix that sometimes fuels prosperity but occasionally destroys it. The full significance of the dissolution of Lehman Brothers remains to be measured. But this mu.

Seller Inventory # RWARE0000041202

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Colossal Failure of Common Sense: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Leh man Brothers
• Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group, US
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0307588343
• ISBN 13: 9780307588340
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Business::Economics

About this title

Synopsis

One of the biggest questions of the financial crisis has not been answered until now: What happened at Lehman Brothers and why was it allowed to fail, with aftershocks that rocked the global economy? In this news-making, often astonishing book, a former Lehman Brothers Vice President gives us the straight answers--right from the belly of the beast.

In A Colossal Failure of Common Sense, Larry McDonald, a Wall Street insider, reveals, the culture and unspoken rules of the game like no book has ever done. The book is couched in the very human story of Larry McDonald's Horatio Alger-like rise from a Massachusetts "gateway to nowhere" housing project to the New York headquarters of Lehman Brothers, home of one of the world's toughest trading floors.

We get a close-up view of the participants in the Lehman collapse, especially those who saw it coming with a helpless, angry certainty. We meet the Brahmins at the top, whose reckless, pedal-to-the-floor addiction to growth finally demolished the nation' s oldest investment bank. The Wall Street we encounter here is a ruthless place, where brilliance, arrogance, ambition, greed, capacity for relentless toil, and other human traits combine in a potent mix that sometimes fuels prosperity but occasionally destroys it.

The full significance of the dissolution of Lehman Brothers remains to be measured. But this much is certain: it was a devastating blow to America's--and the world's--financial system. And it need not have happened. This is the story of why it did.

About the Author

LAWRENCE G. McDONALD is a managing director of Pangea Capital Management LP. He was, until 2008, vice president of distressed debt and convertible securities trading at Lehman Brothers. He ran an extremely successful joint venture between the firm's fixed income and equity divisions and was one of Lehman's most consistently profitable traders. McDonald is also cofounder of Convertbond.com, named by Forbes magazine as "Best of the Web" from 2000 to 2003, specifically citing it as the Web's premier source for convertible securities information, valuation, and news.

PATRICK ROBINSON wrote Lone Survivor with the U.S. Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell.