Dark Pools

The Rise of the Machine Traders and the Rigging of the U.S. Stock Market

By: Scott Patterson

Narrated by: Byron Wagner

Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

A news-breaking account of the global stock market's subterranean battles, Dark Pools portrays the rise of the "bots" - artificially intelligent systems that execute trades in milliseconds and use the cover of darkness to out-maneuver the humans who've created them.

In the beginning was Josh Levine, an idealistic programming genius who dreamed of wresting control of the market from the big exchanges that, again and again, gave the giant institutions an advantage over the little guy. Levine created a computerized trading hub named Island where small traders swapped stocks, and over time his invention morphed into a global electronic stock market that sent trillions in capital through a vast jungle of fiber-optic cables.

By then, the market that Levine had sought to fix had turned upside down, birthing secretive exchanges called dark pools and a new species of trading machines that could think and that seemed, ominously, to be slipping the control of their human masters.

Dark Pools is the fascinating story of how global markets have been hijacked by trading robots - many so self-directed that humans can't predict what they'll do next.

©2012 Scott Patterson (P)2012 Random House Audio

Fascinating

Loved it. Great narration for a truly amazing subject. Kudos to the author for making the complexity of the stock market and the rapid technological changes understandable.

Definitive history on Electronic Trading

The author covers the material so well that even for those who aren't interested in the development of electronic trading will find the story an exciting read. He puts the context around the development and has written the definitive history on the subject.

I'm a big fan of "The Singularity is Near" by Ray Kurzweil and I thought a lot of his telling of the story was influenced by Ray Kurzweil's thinking on AI and such. Near the very end of the book the author brings up Kurzweil and his thinking. He really didn't fit into the story's arc, but I took it as an ode to Kurzweil.

I warn you. The book will give you a queasy feeling in your stomach because he documents so thoroughly how the HST (high speed traders) are systematically taking money away from us because there is not a level playing field for small players like us who invest through our mutual funds or individual stocks and ETFs.

Great, but...

What did you like best about this story?

Very compelling inside look.

Any additional comments?

Terrific book, but there are parts that are incorrect/missing information. i.e. the part where they spoke about the rogue GS programmer who stole proprietary computer code.. The court system and other programmers alike concluded the code was no more than useless free source code, and the story was embellished a lot.

Excellent book

Loved it; only criticism is the same as others have said: author loves describing algorithms as “AI” which can drive you crazy (AI doesn’t exist yet; if it did I wouldn’t be around to write this review and you wouldn’t be here reading it right now.) So, if you are ok with mentally switching out ‘AI’ with algorithm/machine learning/etc I highly recommend this book.

Earning 5 Stars, Chapter by Chapter

The thing that strikes me about this book is the fact that it takes and incredibly complex topic and makes it approachable. At a time when the markets appear hell-bent on leaving us in the dust, this book makes a timely arrival. And its final warning to the reader and purveyors of machine learning is artfully stated and immediate.

Fascinating look into algorithm driven markets

great read surprisingly a page turner. narrator a bit likely to make you fall asleep though

Interesting Book But Needs a More Consistent Story

Interesting book. The author does a pretty great job of describing dark pools and HFT. It will make your blood boil at all the dirty tricks Wall Street plays. But this book would have been much better if it followed the journey of 2 or 3 characters throughout the whole book. Instead, 10-15 characters each get 1 chapter's worth of story, with little or no follow up. It's hard to keep all of the characters and funds straight.

Highly recommended reading

If you want to understand how markets work nowadays, this book is must reading for you....

Global Capitalism on the XBox

I remember reading in the New York Times not long ago about a Russian charged with stealing computer code from Goldman Sachs. To dramatize the crime, the U.S. authorities charged that the code could be used ???to manipulate world financial markets.??? My immediate thought: So, what the hell was Goldman Sachs doing with it in the first place! I was gratified to hear this mysterious little incident described again in this eye-opening work. This audiobook isn???t perfect. The writing is standard-issue, people-centered journalism, there is little critical analysis or theory, and the otherwise fine reading can hit a slightly silly note here and there. But overall I found it excellent, extremely informative, easy to listen to. The author develops a detailed history of the rise of unregulated, computerized market trading, from its earliest, nerd-driven origins to the flash crash. He focuses on key individuals (often unheralded innovators), at times to the detriment of clear chronology and critical judgment. There isn???t a lot of technical depth, but enough for me. I knew practically nothing, and had all my darkest suspicions amply confirmed. I only hope the author, or perhaps someone slightly more analytical, is working on the sequel. This is really a brave new world that no one seems able to fully grasp, let alone manage or regulate. I agree with the author???s sense that, yes, the other shoe will definitely drop. You might want to keep a few dollars under the mattress.

Very very very good audio book.

Very informative book and definitely a book you have to listen 2 more than once. I just wanted him to discuss the different types of orders and how are they looked that in the process. I feel like he touched on the subject but I would have like more info on routing and order types.