Michael Lewis recounts his experience as a bond salesman at Salomon Brothers during the late 1980s, documenting the firm’s invention of mortgage-backed securities and the subsequent shift in Wall Street’s power dynamics. The narrative focuses on the aggressive trading floor culture led by figures like John Gutfreund and Lewis Ranieri, where young trainees navigated a high-stakes environment defined by the titular game of bluffing. Lewis details the mechanics of the bond market, the arbitrage strategies that generated immense profits, and the internal rivalries that eventually led to the firm’s institutional decline.
Aspiring senior executives and finance students read this text to understand the historical evolution of investment banking and the origins of modern securitization. The book provides a technical look at how debt is packaged and traded, alongside a sociological study of corporate greed and incentive structures. Readers walk away with a cynical perspective on professional money management and a clear understanding of how the mortgage bond market laid the groundwork for future financial volatility.
Outward-looking and clear-cut; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Practical Optimizer. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1989
- Language
- EN
