4 ms·

I'm curious about the author's opinion of Liar's Poker, especially the line I got on a plane to New York within the week. I packed my copy of Liar’s Poker for r

I'm curious about the author's opinion of Liar's Poker, especially the line I got on a plane to New York within the week. I packed my copy of Liar’s Poker for reference. I'm surprised that anyone would read Liar's Poker and think of it as a reference to Wall Street on an inspiration to work there. The "gorilla" culture described by Michael Lewis at Salomon Brothers in the 80s sounds very close to what the author experienced at GS in the mid-2000s. At the end of the book, Lewis leaves the firm after slightly more than a year, regarding his pay as obscene for the work he did and wondering about the utility and usefulness of the trading he did. So, how could anyone read Liar's Poker and come away from it wanting to work on Wall Street? Or does obscene bonus pay blind people to all the negatives? I don't think Michael Lewis ever intended the book to inspire people to work on Wall Street.

arethuza 16y ago
In The Big Short he mentions that although he never intended Liar's Poker to inspire people to work on Wall Street. However, that's precisely how a lot of people have treated it - he mentions he gets a lot of requests from people who read Liar's Poker and want tips on how to get started on Wall Street.
- bambax 16y ago
  Yes. From the introduction to The Big Short (page XV): "I hoped that some bright kid at Ohio State University who really wanted to be an oceanographer would read my book [Liar's Poker], spurn the offer from Golman Sachs, and set out to sea. Some how that message was mainly lost. Six months after Liar's Poker was published, I was kee-deep in letters from students at Ohio State University who wanted to know if I had any other secrets to share about Wall Street. They'd read my book as a how-to manual."
  - yummyfajitas 16y ago
    When I visited Egypt, my flamboyantly gay chain smoking guide had a similar experience. He tried to dissuade me from climbing up "Moses Mountain", as it was locally known. Him: I tried it once, about a year ago. I was showing some healthy mexican girls around, and they decided to climb. But it was so steep, and they just kept walking! After a few hours of pain I just stopped, and shivered on the side of the mountain. It was the worst day of my life. Me: Sounds awesome. Only 50 egyptian pounds? Him: It wasn't awesome. I don't recommend it. I'll sleep in the van. Michael Lewis didn't enjoy Solomon Brothers, just as my guide didn't enjoy a 3 hour stroll up a 1500m hill. Both assumed that an accurate description of the experience would dissuade others. Both simply failed to appreciate the diversity of human preferences.
- percept 16y ago
  I imagine the tone of the book had a lot to do with that. If he wanted to discourage people he should have made it a less entertaining read!
- borism 16y ago
  it's the same with Wall Street (the movie).
htsh 16y ago
No, he didn't but many took it as such. And I recall in a recent interview that he was disappointed that it was taken as inspiration by many people (as the author here).
mdda 16y ago
Everyone on Wall St (approximately) has read Liars Poker - and, while there's some artistic license being take, the observations are basically dead-on. And people are proud that they work in an industry that has such a compelling book. And they see the characters (or their company's versions) every day. To pick other examples : 'Wall Street' is a must-see movie for everyone on the Street (though it's completely overblown). OTOH, Boiler Room (while being a decent movie) doesn't resonant much, since the vast majority of the money on Wall St is made by making tiny percentages on large amounts, rather than by ripping off small investors... I guess that the majority of Wall St think that Liars Poker is a fairly balanced (and interesting) view of what goes on. Michael Lewis has an entertaining and insider-ish blog on Bloomberg (NI LEWIS, if you're in front of a terminal) And here's an article he published yesterday (really targeted at the Wall St crowd) : http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-09-13/hedge-fund-man-finds-inner-lion-in-outer-space-michael-lewis.html http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-09-13/hedge-fund-man-f...
- antongm 16y ago
  Mdda is right. What was perhaps intended as a cautionary tale instead became a recruiting anthem. After reading Liar's Poker, I wanted to be right there with the Human Piranha hearing him say 'the fing frogs are going to fing get f*cked!' The swaggering cowboy-ness of the whole thing was so tempting, as was the untrammeled greed. Who wouldn't want to be a Big Swinging Dick? It seemed like such a different, more exciting world than the petty, effete, and monastic world of academia. Incidentally, Lewis' column on Bloomberg is the best read on the terminal, in my opinion. His writing is among the best reading anywhere, in my opinion. My piece is obviously a riff on Liar's Poker. I'm only poking along on his well-trodden ground. Now...you know what would be a unique? A Liar's Poker for startups. That hasn't really been written yet (that I know of). Hmm...there's an idea...;) Actually, on second thought, Kaplan's 'Startup' might be that. I re-read it again recently, and it's starting to sound a bit dated though.
- jrockway 16y ago
  NI LEWIS, if you're in front of a terminal Nice. Now I know how I can read blogs at work. (They try to block the regular Internet ones, but I doubt they even considered trying to censor the Bloomberg terminals!)

arethuza 16y ago

In The Big Short he mentions that although he never intended Liar's Poker to inspire people to work on Wall Street. However, that's precisely how a lot of people have treated it - he mentions he gets a lot of requests from people who read Liar's Poker and want tips on how to get started on Wall Street.

bambax 16y ago
Yes. From the introduction to The Big Short (page XV): "I hoped that some bright kid at Ohio State University who really wanted to be an oceanographer would read my book [Liar's Poker], spurn the offer from Golman Sachs, and set out to sea. Some how that message was mainly lost. Six months after Liar's Poker was published, I was kee-deep in letters from students at Ohio State University who wanted to know if I had any other secrets to share about Wall Street. They'd read my book as a how-to manual."
- yummyfajitas 16y ago
  When I visited Egypt, my flamboyantly gay chain smoking guide had a similar experience. He tried to dissuade me from climbing up "Moses Mountain", as it was locally known. Him: I tried it once, about a year ago. I was showing some healthy mexican girls around, and they decided to climb. But it was so steep, and they just kept walking! After a few hours of pain I just stopped, and shivered on the side of the mountain. It was the worst day of my life. Me: Sounds awesome. Only 50 egyptian pounds? Him: It wasn't awesome. I don't recommend it. I'll sleep in the van. Michael Lewis didn't enjoy Solomon Brothers, just as my guide didn't enjoy a 3 hour stroll up a 1500m hill. Both assumed that an accurate description of the experience would dissuade others. Both simply failed to appreciate the diversity of human preferences.
percept 16y ago
I imagine the tone of the book had a lot to do with that. If he wanted to discourage people he should have made it a less entertaining read!
borism 16y ago
it's the same with Wall Street (the movie).

htsh 16y ago

No, he didn't but many took it as such. And I recall in a recent interview that he was disappointed that it was taken as inspiration by many people (as the author here).

mdda 16y ago

Everyone on Wall St (approximately) has read Liars Poker - and, while there's some artistic license being take, the observations are basically dead-on. And people are proud that they work in an industry that has such a compelling book. And they see the characters (or their company's versions) every day. To pick other examples : 'Wall Street' is a must-see movie for everyone on the Street (though it's completely overblown). OTOH, Boiler Room (while being a decent movie) doesn't resonant much, since the vast majority of the money on Wall St is made by making tiny percentages on large amounts, rather than by ripping off small investors... I guess that the majority of Wall St think that Liars Poker is a fairly balanced (and interesting) view of what goes on. Michael Lewis has an entertaining and insider-ish blog on Bloomberg (NI LEWIS, if you're in front of a terminal) And here's an article he published yesterday (really targeted at the Wall St crowd) : http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-09-13/hedge-fund-man-finds-inner-lion-in-outer-space-michael-lewis.html http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-09-13/hedge-fund-man-f...

antongm 16y ago
Mdda is right. What was perhaps intended as a cautionary tale instead became a recruiting anthem. After reading Liar's Poker, I wanted to be right there with the Human Piranha hearing him say 'the fing frogs are going to fing get f*cked!' The swaggering cowboy-ness of the whole thing was so tempting, as was the untrammeled greed. Who wouldn't want to be a Big Swinging Dick? It seemed like such a different, more exciting world than the petty, effete, and monastic world of academia. Incidentally, Lewis' column on Bloomberg is the best read on the terminal, in my opinion. His writing is among the best reading anywhere, in my opinion. My piece is obviously a riff on Liar's Poker. I'm only poking along on his well-trodden ground. Now...you know what would be a unique? A Liar's Poker for startups. That hasn't really been written yet (that I know of). Hmm...there's an idea...;) Actually, on second thought, Kaplan's 'Startup' might be that. I re-read it again recently, and it's starting to sound a bit dated though.
jrockway 16y ago
NI LEWIS, if you're in front of a terminal Nice. Now I know how I can read blogs at work. (They try to block the regular Internet ones, but I doubt they even considered trying to censor the Bloomberg terminals!)