A Colossal Failure of Common Sense

The Inside Story of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers

By: Patrick Robinson, Lawrence G. McDonald

Narrated by: Erik Davies

Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2009 Lawrence G. McDonald (P)2009 Random House

Entertaining, but not factual

Author is self-absored and was clearly a low-level trader at Lehman, so a lot of what is proffered is hearsay. Also, I really didn't care to know about his life story in the first 3 chapters - irrelevant and self-serving, not to mention poorly written. If you like hearing lots of dirt, regardless of source or validity, this might work for you. Forthcoming books and audio on Lehman's collapse will have far more credibility - I hope.

Good read but lacking in philosophical learning

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.

Great understanding of Wall Street

The way stories should be narrated. Really good book. Hope the author writes more books

Great book. Well read.

Listened to it many times. Well worth it. I will buy this book in print also.

What History tells Us!

Our evolution continues, but just as in sports that this author loves, or the comfort of our society for the well to do, the idea if free capitalism is an illusion. Rules, laws, verification that those rules are beneficial is critical. The referees are what make the game work. These pure capitalism guys, libertarian thinkers such as Paulson are the problem. Dinosaurs whose age is passed.

The test will be how Covid rescue will compare to Wall Street rescue, money to the people versus to Wall Street, I am optimistic this rescue will fair better!!!

Dubious account.

The value of this book is that its focus is on the Lehman Brothers collapse. In conjunction with other books such as Chain of Blame, House of Cards, and Trillion Dollar Meltdown, I found it informative. It is hard to fully understand the collapse of Lehman Brothers without also understanding the collapse of Bear Sterns and Countrywide as well the many other events. This book serves as another piece to the puzzle.

However, I agree with other reviewers who stated that this book is the "tale of the narcissist." The personal narrative sections are very off-putting. Even the descriptions of the author's co-workers I suspect are exaggeration. In short, the author is very self-aggrandizing, which makes me skeptical of the first person events he describes.

However, about 60% of the narrative deals with the bigger picture of the collapse of Lehman and the financial crises in general. I found this portion of the book useful in better understanding the events which precipitated and transpired during the financial crises of 2008.

I recommend this book in conjunction with other, more reliable sources, for those interested in better understanding the role the collapse of Lehmans's played in the financial crises of 2008.

Excellent book with some tips on how to hustle!

Would you listen to A Colossal Failure of Common Sense again? Why?

I am writing this review after my second time listening to the audio book. My first listen was about 6 months ago. I consider this book an entertaining and educational experience.

What did you like best about this story?

The detail about some of the big trades that Larry and his group undertook while at Lehman. Larry's experiences trying to get into Wall Street were well worth the listen on those merits alone.

What does Erik Davies bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The attitude of the author comes through clearly. It was easy to follow along and the actor's voice was easy on the ears.

Any additional comments?

This book is more about the author's experiences. Lehman serves as a back drop until the final chapters of the book. This book gives you the downfall of Lehman but Larry's biography would do well in motivational seminars. This book is great for investing nuts and financial history buffs.

Two Books in One

This book is pretty book. It comes in 2 audio files. The 2nd is the story of the Lehman collapse. The first is the author's life story. If you just care about Lehman, then skip to the second file. You will miss the connection to a couple of the author's friends, but the rest of the story is complete.

The first audio file is not too bad either. But it is an entirely different story.

leverage works both ways . be flexible is the lesson . great and risk story.

Greatest story about greed and risk .
leverage works both ways .
one needs to be flexible.

Fascinating Story, Pooly Delivered

Seems that all of the reviews are accurate. The author is a narcissist, and parts of the book are very poorly written, comically so at times. Yes, there is rampant metaphor abuse; the narration is so amateur I thought is was read by the author. That said, the story is fascinating, and the message that Lehman's failure should not have happened and would not have happened had top management been more capable and responsible or heeded the alarm bells of 2006 is persuasive. I have never worked on Wall Street, and was riveted until the end, though often annoyed by the arrogance of the author and poor writing, I recommend this Audible offering, a nice compliment to William Cohan's better offering, House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street.