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  • The Big Short

  • Inside the Doomsday Machine
  • Written by: Michael Lewis
  • Narrated by: Jesse Boggs
  • Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (186 ratings)

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The Big Short

Written by: Michael Lewis
Narrated by: Jesse Boggs
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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

What the critics say

“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)

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What listeners say about The Big Short

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    5 out of 5 stars

Very detailed example of what happened in 2008

This is a fantastic listen. It goes into much greater detail about what happened during the big crash in 08. I recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the movie and is looking for a deeper dive into the background of the details.

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great story, timeless wisdom

excellent character snippets, story of hubris and self talk that meant to obfuscate and delude regulators, ended up deluding even the smart money people who believed the lies that others created out of their false, bound to fail, debt portfolios.

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  • Sam
  • 2021-12-31

Unbiased and reflective book on financial crisis

Enjoyed the book and the stories that produced heroes and villains in the lead-up to the financial crisis. The narrator was also good.

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  • Cal
  • 2021-01-26

A great book overall

Great story line, very interesting and an enjoyable listen. The narrator does a great job also.

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As Entertaining as the film!

A great book!! If you loved the movie, you will love the book! I will certainly listen to it again.

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Better than the movie

Like many I found this book because of the 2015 movie it spawned but the storyline behind the scenes is occasionally much more terrifying. I can't tell you how often I found myself muttering"Why didn't they leave such-&-such a scene as it actually happened. Though I'm shocked by how often I found they didn't change anything and scenes played out exactly as depicted with all the black humor and terrible implications unchecked.

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Amazing read. Time well spent.

Aside from the incredibly engaging story, I found this book to be an educational masterpiece in the context of a lay-person’s intro to the bond, lending, and equity market on Wall Street. A must read for anyone who wants to understand what happened in 2007/2008 during the financial crisis.

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Lewis is the boss

Lewis has a unique ability to make the complex into the simple, especially when it come to financial matters. He's a real treasure and I'm so glad he gave up bond trading to write books for us. The narration is well done here. No complaints.
#Audible1

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Terrific

Too bad what happens but the story is explained in an amazing fashion. Loved it.

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