The Big Short Exposes the Deception and Delusion that Led to Our Fall

Book Review
Lewis, Michael. The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. , Hardbound: 264 pp. $27.95

I missed author Michael Lewis during his recent book tour stop in Seattle. He has lately received national recognition as author of the book that turned into the film, The Blind Side. After receiving his new book, The Big Short, it took me just a few pages to see how it quickly rose to the top of bestseller lists.

I was immediately immersed in this gripping story. The Big Short quickly dives behind-the-scenes of the mortgage-backed securities and real estate industry meltdown. Through a rich character-driven narrative, Lewis deftly weaves together how the nation’s top financial institutions profited from deception and delusion in the subprime home equity market. Lewis also delivers how those high-risk, low ethic actions have unraveled the financial stability of not just America’s lower-middle-class, but entire national economies. The outrage, intrigue, and dark humor of this peek inside the predatory operations and attitude of our nation’s key financial institutions make this a compelling must-read for anyone who wants to understand more about how these money-making behemoths function, and malfunction, to the detriment of the rest of us.

Get this book. I will definitely also be picking up more of Lewis’ work, including Liar’s Poker, a narrative about the excess and hubris of Wall Street during the end of our last century.