House of Cards

A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street

By: William Cohan

Narrated by: Alan Sklar

Length: 25 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

In March 2008, Bear Stearns, a swashbuckling 84-year-old financial institution, was forced to sell itself to JPMorgan Chase for an outrageously low price in a deal brokered by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who was desperately trying to prevent an impending catastrophic market crash. But mere months before, an industry-wide boom had "the Bear" clocking a record high stock price. How did a giant investment bank with $18 billion in cash on hand disappear in a mere 10 days?

In this tour de force, Cohan provides a minute-by-minute account of the events that brought America's second Gilded Age to an end. Filled with intimate portraits of the major players, high-end gossip, and smart financial analysis, House of Cards recounts in delicious narrative form the dramatic events behind the fall of Bear Stearns and what it revealed about the financial world's progression from irrational boom to cataclysmic bust. House of Cards is the Rosetta Stone for understanding the dramatic and the unprecedented events that have reshaped Wall Street and global finance in the past two years.

©2009 William D. Cohen (P)2009 Tantor

A Financial Thriller

House of Cards was a fabulous read. It was informative and entertaining -- a swashbuckler of sorts. Though I am not a financial professional, I was able to keep up with the jargon. (I did think though that the printed book would probably have had an index.) The book gave some insight into the workings of investment banks, their products, and the disastrous impact of the subprime mortgages and the housing bubble on those banks. Narrator Alan Sklar captured the excitement of the period. I am recommending the book to those interested in the subject.

True (White Collar) Crime

William Cohan in House of Cards tells the sordid tale of the fall of Bear Stearns during the economic disaster of 2008-2009. One of the world’s oldest and largest investment banks went belly-up in a matter of days and Cohan spares the reader no details. This book is an autopsy, a crime scene investigation, an analysis of greed and simple stupidity. The book might run a little long for some (468 pages) and contain more detail than others might prefer. It is an eye-opener though worthy of every citizen who wants to be informed about the caliber of people who ran one of the premier investment banks in the world. Goodness! The reading of Alan Sklar is excellent.

Very detailed. Very deep. Amazing.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I recomend just to someone that is very very interested in the Bear Stearns history.

Great Financial Crisis In Layman's Terms

Hose of Cards is well written and read in a calm & comforting way -- good for a high-wire very real life narrative. If you have any interest in financial history this is a must-read.

Tedious, Repetitive. . . and essential reading

The book is filled with excruciatingly unnecessary detail and endless repetition. How many times do we need to hear the address of Bear Stearns? Conversations are recounted from multiple perspectives, even where they agree, We are told what someone is going to say, then told what they said.

However, if you can get through all that, the story is compelling and will infuriate you. It is astounding to hear of the pettiness, narcissism, arrogance, and ruthlessness which engulfs the executives at Bear Stearns, and other investment banks. These people didn't care about anything except enormous bonuses, and would do anything to get them. When others lost their money, these people didn't give a hoot. But then to hear them whining and carrying on like two-year olds when their firm collapsed as a direct result of their incompetence is unbelievable.

After the collapse, several of them gave interviews, in which they whined and complained about how they were treated, and tried to blame the failure on others.

In spite of the author's bizarre belief that the failures were a result of government interference in the free markets, this book will convince any thinking person that our government needs to take a major role in regulating the financial industry - if for no other reason than to protect bankers from themselves. It is abundantly clear that they are too stupid to protect themselves.

Tedius at times but overall pretty interesting

There are times during this book that you just want the author to get on with it. He goes over certain events, giving the perspective of so many involved, that you just want to move along to the next section. But after an initial rough patch it does pick up, for me, at least, when he gets into the history of Bear, Sterns and some of the central players.

Interesting

Interesting but dragged on too long. It was also very technical so if you don't have a business background, this one will put you to sleep.

Balanced and Authentic

This author does a masterful job of illuminating the complex causes of the current economic crisis through the voices of key players in the demise of Goldman. Great read by a fine narrator.

House of cards

Very good book on the recent financial mess. the book goes into great detail. if you are interested in understanding the players and what REALLY happened, listen to this book.

Great summary of the 2008 financial collapse

Want to know what happened in 2008? Here's the book. Its long but very comprehensive