Skinny Dipping at Low Tide

A Saga of Squeezed Shorts, Shattered Dreams, and Embarrassing Riches

In early 2021, the stock value of PwnShop—a dead to rights bricks-and-mortar retailer disrupted by the digital downloading of video games—inexplicably ballooned overnight. While much has been written about the mechanics of the meme stock short squeezes, no one has yet clarified the chaotic drama of what was happening inside such a company during its zeitgeist moment.

Nick Haller is an irreverent HBS Gen X know-it-all and wannabe musician trapped inside the C-suite of PwnShop. Having slogged through bureaucracy and a morass of competing agendas with characters that include tightfisted ex-military executives, demented board directors, vainglorious activists, and the cult-like community of clerks and customers, Haller foolishly believes that he's found a way forward for the disrupted company. Instead, the pandemic strikes, activists take control of the company, the Reddit-fueled short squeeze occurs, and Nick's earnest intentions end up on the cutting room floor.

Skinny Dipping at Low Tide is a darkly comedic, gonzo-style satire that chronicles the chaos, absurdity, and soul-searching of a disillusioned executive. It causes him to question everything he ever thought about capitalism and the corporate world. Skinny Dipping at Low Tide is sure to delight fans of Tom Robbins, Joshua Ferris, and Michael Lewis.

©2026 M. F. Hamlin (P)2026 Tantor Media

Great Story & Narration

Hamlin was actually inside GameStop during the meme-stock chaos and instead of writing a straightforward memoir, he fictionalized it. Smart move. The distance lets him be funnier and sharper than a traditional business book would allow. The “bored room” scenes hit different when you know the author lived them.

Henning’s narration breathes so much life into the whole thing. He gives each character a distinct voice and presence that makes the ensemble feel real. The clueless executives, the true believers, the people just trying to survive the chaos- they all land differently because of what he brings to them.

If you’ve ever worked inside a company that’s in chaos while the people in charge rearranged deck chairs, this one’s going to feel uncomfortably familiar. In the best way.

Great book, very enjoyable!

I really enjoyed this book. Great story, well written, and a great performance by the narrator.

I heard the author interviewed on the Dumb Zone podcast and seemed interesting, I’m glad I bought the book.