S. Hawkins

I loved this book. It was excellent on three levels, maybe more:

1. The bare facts of the story are wild and entertaining. You gotta love Attila.

2. The writing was superb. Julian Rubenstein has an understated writing style that allows the events and characters to speak for themselves. I'm tempted to track down some of his sports writing just to enjoy the prose.

3. The reading and production actually enhanced the already great writing. I think it was the author himself who was the main narrator--if so, he might want to consider switching careers. He's a lot more enjoyable to listen to than some voice actors I've heard. The occasional interjections of dialogue by other voices took a bit of getting used to, but I ended up loving that as well.

Highly recommended.

I wasn't previously familiar with the author's work, but I figured that a Pulitzer prize winner would make an effort to maintain some semblance of journalistic integrity. I knew from the title that the book would have a point of view, but I wasn't expecting it to be blatant spin.

I don't even necessarily disagree with the premise--Fannie and Freddie were indeed a big part of the problem--I just resent the fact that the book is being sold as something other than partisan hyperbole. The facts that the narrator presented are, from what I can tell, actual facts, but they're not being reported, they're being sold. It's even narrated in a sort of preachy, outraged tone. I got about three hours in, then gave up.

If you're looking for a more balanced examination of the same general events, I recommend The End of Wall Street. If you're just killing time until Glenn Beck comes on, this will probably be to your taste.

Can I have my credit back?