More Money Than God

Hedge Funds and the Making of a New Elite

By: Sebastian Mallaby

Narrated by: Alan Nebelthau

Length: 16 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

The Paul Volker Senior Fellow in International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, Washington Post journalist Sebastian Mallaby has garnered New York Times Editor’s Choice and Notable Book honors for his enthralling nonfiction. Bolstered by Mallaby’s unprecedented access to the industry, More Money Than God tells the inside story of hedge funds, from their origins in the 1960s and 1970s to their role in the financial crisis of 2007–2009.

©2010 Sebastian Mallaby (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC

Valiant effort but lacking analytic horsepower...

Mallaby's effort should be commended for attempting to serve as a hedge fund historian chronicling the last half century of activity in this niche of the financial world. However, the style of his writing is very encyclopedic and not very analytical. You get a trade by trade , blow by blow description of the day in the life of well known cast of characters in the hedge fund world but I was yearning for more color and "so what's" about the industry and implications on our economy and society at large. Most of what I read, I had already learned from other books or articles written on the topic to date. We finally get the author's consensus at the end of the book that hedge funds should be left alone from the regulators since their relative size and ability to absorb their own risk sequestered from the main street investor and shareholder (i.e., no need for tax payer bailouts) makes them a model for the larger too big to fail wards of the state banks of today. This is a powerful point that could have been better integrated throughout the book. Compared to the colorful Michael Lewis or the deeply analytical Niall Ferguson, this book was hardly a page turner and I had to force myself to push on to get to the "so whats". There are much better books on this topic out already and there will more to come I am sure as one of the most spectacularly disastrous periods of hubris, greed and poor judgment in our financial and economic history unfolds.

This book tells all in just a few hours!

I worked for an asset allocator for 3.5 years. Over that 3.5 years I learned an enormous amount of information about the hedge fund industry. Now, I listen to this book and it sums up nearly 85% of that information in just a few short hours. The remaining 15% can only come from experience itself. This is a great listen, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Important Approach and Interesting Recommendations

I try to read in areas which are unfamiliar. It was in this context that I picked up Sebastian Mallaby’s “More Money than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of the New Elite.” Don’t be put off by the topic, this book is valuable for any individual who simply wants to know about too big to fail, the advent and meaning of hedge funds, and the current economic situation. You do not have to have a degree in Finance or investing to benefit from this book. Essentially, Mallaby relates the history of hedge funds, how they functioned during the recent economic collapse, and how they might best be used to advantage. When banks were failing, not one hedge fund used public funding as a bailout. Mallaby tells you why and how that has become fact. Anyone with even a marginal interest in the topic or a lingering interest in public policy will more than benefit. After all, everyone in the US has a stake in this game. The reading of Alan Nebelthau is excellent.

Better than Market Wizards

Great writing and storytelling, its like market wizards but for funds. Much better insight into Soros than reading Soros' own material.

anyone with ambitions of starting a fund at some point should read this.

Must listen to anyone interested in stock markets

Its more like several individual stories of hedge funds sewn in together. Very informative, a lot can be learnt.

insane

Narrator good, has that wealth voice.

This book will make you hate any schooling. It will make you look at people who you grew up with and say you where lied to and you spread that lie.

Makes you think even if you do 2% of what these guys did you could help your family and change your life.

A Chronological History of Hedgefunds

For one who has traded stocks and options this was very informative. Large volume of money is required to trade at the Hedge fund levels and not much text is covered on ascertaining large volume of capital to invest. The psychology and algorithms of hedge fund trading is covered at a high level. The volume of money made for those that were successful is huge, more than corporations in some cases. A most interesting book.

Excellent

Very well written and well narrated hedge fund history. Go to amazon.com for in-depth reviews on the print edition. It is well worth it!

fantastic book

This book is one of the best ways to learn about hedge fund history, it was also very thorough in its analysis of the hedge fund industry as a whole.

Excellent!

This one is highly recommended to anyone interested in financial markets and hedge funds. A fantastic listen!