The Big Short

Inside the Doomsday Machine

By: Michael Lewis

Narrated by: Jesse Boggs

Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Featuring an exclusive audio interview with Michael Lewis

When the crash of the U.S. stock market became public knowledge in the fall of 2008, it was already old news. The real crash, the silent crash, had taken place over the previous year, in bizarre feeder markets where the sun doesn’t shine, and the SEC doesn’t dare, or bother, to tread: the bond and real-estate derivative markets, where geeks invent impenetrable securities to profit from the misery of lower- and middle-class Americans who can’t pay their debts. The smart people who understood what was or might be happening were paralyzed by hope and fear; in any case, they weren’t talking.

The crucial question is this: Who understood the risk inherent in the assumption of ever-rising real-estate prices, a risk compounded daily by the creation of those arcane, artificial securities loosely based on piles of doubtful mortgages?

Michael Lewis turns the inquiry on its head to create a fresh, character-driven narrative brimming with indignation and dark humor, a fitting sequel to his number-one best-selling Liar’s Poker. "Who got it right?" he asks. Who saw the ever-rising real-estate market for the black hole it would become, and eventually made billions of dollars from that perception? And what qualities of character made those few persist when their peers and colleagues dismissed them as Chicken Littles?

Out of this handful of unlikely—really unlikely—heroes, Lewis fashions a story as compelling and unusual as any of his earlier best sellers, proving yet again that he is the finest and funniest chronicler of our times.

©2010 Michael Lewis (P)2010 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

“No one writes with more narrative panache about money and finance than Mr. Lewis....[he] does a nimble job of using his subjects’ stories to explicate the greed, idiocies and hypocrisies of a system notably lacking in grown-up supervision....Writing in faintly Tom Wolfe-ian prose, Mr. Lewis does a colorful job of introducing the lay reader to the Darwinian world of the bond market.” (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)

“Superb: Michael Lewis doing what he does best, illuminating the idiocy, madness and greed of modern finance. . . . Lewis achieves what I previously imagined impossible: He makes subprime sexy all over again.” (Andrew Leonard, Salon.com)

"[Michael Lewis] is the finest storyteller of our generation.” (Malcolm Gladwell)

Great Book

one of the best books I've read on the topic. Lewis is an excellent writer and even though we all know the big picture ending, I was still on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens to the characters Lewis follows....

Listened to three times (so far)

Brilliant, engaging and educational - and also well read. I learn more each time I listen to it.

Makes me want to scream "off with their heads!"

Excellent telling of the hedge fund/Wall Street portion of the subprime mortgage crisis. Listening to it during the Spring of 2016, I found myself sounding like Bernie Sanders screaming for the prosecution of the executives in the Wall Street banks whose greed created the conditions that led to the Big Short.

1st truly 5 star book I've heard

I follow a number of financial, stock related, business/Self Help books and authors. By a wide margin this book proved to be more educational, entertaining, and bewildering than any content of taken in previously. I believe I have read 3 of Lewis's books but will now be sure to consume all of them.

Best Explanation

This is the best explanation of what really happened on Wall Street 2003 until the meltdown of 07/08. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Entertaining and enlightening.

What did you love best about The Big Short?

This story allows the regular every day person to fully understand the catastrophe of the financial collapse and near collapse of the United States economic system of 2006 and 2007. It is a warning to all of how fragile our economic system is and how corrupt the system is. I fear the lessons learned and shared in this book will continue to be ignored and that worse is to come if they are not heeded.

Who was your favorite character and why?

All characters are well developed.

If you could give The Big Short a new subtitle, what would it be?

The Big Short: A cautionary tale of the possible imminent collapse of world economics

For those financial collapse buffs

Would you listen to The Big Short again? Why?

Probably not, but that doesnt mean it wasn't a great listen.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Big Short?

Getting to know the personalities of those behind the collapse

What about Jesse Boggs’s performance did you like?

Great narration

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I could

Any additional comments?

Great book.

Eye Opener

This was one of those books that you enjoyed listening to but you also felt helpless as far as what you could do to prevent it from happening again. The greed and lack of ownership for their actions that people on Wall Street were allowed to get away with makes you want to put your money somewhere else. Unfortunately, there aren't alot of other options so we'll just have to be careful of who we do business with. This book certainly gave me a much better understanding of how it all fit together and why we lost what we did in the market. I listened to it twice and liked it both times.

Great book

Read it in 2 days and absolutely loved it. Very interesting and made the financial aspects of what took place during the crisis understandable.

Great writer; Tough to follow at points

Michael Lewis is a masterful writer. His characterizations are vivid, interesting, and enjoyable to read. The book was tough to follow at points due to the large ensamble of intertwining characters and institutions. Overall, the book was very informative and an overall pleasure to read.