Wade

As a long time Clancy fan I found this story disappointing. The author repeatedly boils down very complex issues to suit the narrow requirements of his characters. Torture is effective and necessary, the tax system is too complicated and broken, killing our enemies (by any method) should be the cornerstone of American foreign policy.... and many other myths.

Perhaps it was because I was younger when I read other Clancy works that I missed the cynical and reductionist undertones in the writing. Perhaps Mr. Clancy has come to believe that the world can be viewed in terms of good and evil.

I wouldn't recommend this book.

This book was a personal and impassioned account of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

After a short explanation of how the author began his career at the firm he spins a fascinating yarn of brilliant and powerful people who saw the iceberg coming, but are unable to take the controls in time to save the ship.

The author on the one hand celebrates what great minds can accomplish in an unregulated 'free market' system while at the same time being shocked at the destruction such power can have when inevitable human flaws take their toll. It is the author's bafflement with the two sides of the same coin that the reader is left with.

While this book will not be the definitive history on the collapse on Lehman Brothers, it was a fascinating insiders look to the world of high finance. I was riveted until the end and would recommend it.