Ugly Americans

The True Story of the Ivy League Cowboys Who Raided the Asian Markets for Millions

By: Ben Mezrich

Narrated by: TBD

Ugly Americans is the true story of John Malcolm, a Princeton graduate who traveled halfway around the world in search of the American dream and pulled off a trade that could be described as the biggest deal in the history of the financial markets.

Without speaking a word of Japanese, with barely a penny in his pocket, Malcolm was thrown into the bizarre life of an ex-pat trader. Surrounded by characters ripped right out of a Hollywood thriller, he quickly learned how to survive in a cutthroat world -- at the feet of the biggest players the markets have ever known.

Malcolm was first an assistant trading huge positions for Nick Leeson, the rogue trader who brought down Barings Bank -- the oldest in England. He was the right-hand man to an enigmatic and brilliant hedge-fund cowboy, Dean Carney, and grew into one of the biggest derivatives traders in all of Asia. Along the way, Malcolm fell in love with the daughter of a Yakuza gangster, built a vast fortune out of thin air, and came head to head with violent Japanese mobsters. Malcolm and his twentysomething, Ivy League-schooled colleagues rode the crashing waves of the Asian markets during the mid-to late 1990s, culminating in a single deal the likes of which had never been seen before, or since.

A real-life mixture of Liar’s Poker and Wall Street, brimming with intense action, romance, underground sex, vivid locales, and exotic characters, Ugly Americans is the untold, true story that will rock the financial community and redefine an era.

Amazing AAA***

If you want to listen to true story about people making REAL money this is for you. It's my third time listening to it in 2 weeks.

monotone narration

while the story is fascinating and a bit disgusting all at the same time, I found the narration to be monotone and lifeless. The story would have been much better had the narrator been a little more lively and nuanced in their delivery.

Compelling Story About Love, Lust, and Money

Great story with an incredible ending. A great listen! It was fun to hear the author read his own story. Very entertaining. Definitely recommended.

***the techno music at the beginning of each chapter is obnoxious.***

Great writing style

The book had very exciting likeable characters and it was written in a style that sounded realistic.

Very interesting story if you are into finance and economics, or just plain suspense.

I recommend it. The only thing I don't like is the silly music that keeps coming up every section.

Really enjoyed all aspects of this audiobook.

The narrator (and writer) has a calm voice which is great, doesn’t arouse irritation and kept me focused on the story. The story was good, very descriptive and therefore i felt totally submerged into it. I like how things are kept realistic and not over the top. in this way, it’s more believable and thus more enjoyable. I’m going for the next book, preferably narrated by the writer again.