Author: Michael Lewis
I have been a late bloomer in discovering Michael Lewis and his repertoire of books ranging from "Moneyball" which is about the Oakland A's, to more recent books like "The Big Short" which is about the sub-prime-loan-led financial meltdown. Boomerang is his most recent addition and chronicles the financial collapse of Iceland, Ireland and Greece and their largest creditor Germany.
Michael's writing is incisive and he pulls no punches in describing the cultural peculiarities of the countries with an eye to drawing connections to the financial crises. Michael is a self described, financial disaster tourist and he travels to each of the countries that he has written about, and seeks out folks that had a key role to play in the financial crisis. He does his research well and writes with the authenticity of someone who has conducted it himself. He chronicles these interviews with a keen observation and wit that had me chuckling with laughter as I read through his very interesting travelogue.
Michael has a knack for taking a problem, identifying the cause for it and then putting it in a form that relates to a common behavior that we can all relate to. For instance he describes the American appetite for buying more than they can afford as "Even a person on a diet who sensibly avoids coming face-to-face with a piece of chocolate cake will find it hard to control himself if the chocolate cake somehow finds him".
Michael truly has a way with words and is able to drop quotes mid-paragraph that just flow with the narrative. Here's one that had me admiring how accurately it described Arnold Schwarzenegger's tenure as Governor of California, "He tried every different way of dealing with the crisis in services. He tried to act like a Republican. He tried to act like a Democrat. He tried making nice with the legislature. When that didn't work, he called them girlie men. When that didn't work he went directly to the people. And the people voted against his proposals".
This is easily one of the most entertaining financial books that I have read, and will definitely be in my top 10 list of books for 2011.
I have been a late bloomer in discovering Michael Lewis and his repertoire of books ranging from "Moneyball" which is about the Oakland A's, to more recent books like "The Big Short" which is about the sub-prime-loan-led financial meltdown. Boomerang is his most recent addition and chronicles the financial collapse of Iceland, Ireland and Greece and their largest creditor Germany.Michael's writing is incisive and he pulls no punches in describing the cultural peculiarities of the countries with an eye to drawing connections to the financial crises. Michael is a self described, financial disaster tourist and he travels to each of the countries that he has written about, and seeks out folks that had a key role to play in the financial crisis. He does his research well and writes with the authenticity of someone who has conducted it himself. He chronicles these interviews with a keen observation and wit that had me chuckling with laughter as I read through his very interesting travelogue.
Michael has a knack for taking a problem, identifying the cause for it and then putting it in a form that relates to a common behavior that we can all relate to. For instance he describes the American appetite for buying more than they can afford as "Even a person on a diet who sensibly avoids coming face-to-face with a piece of chocolate cake will find it hard to control himself if the chocolate cake somehow finds him".
Michael truly has a way with words and is able to drop quotes mid-paragraph that just flow with the narrative. Here's one that had me admiring how accurately it described Arnold Schwarzenegger's tenure as Governor of California, "He tried every different way of dealing with the crisis in services. He tried to act like a Republican. He tried to act like a Democrat. He tried making nice with the legislature. When that didn't work, he called them girlie men. When that didn't work he went directly to the people. And the people voted against his proposals".
This is easily one of the most entertaining financial books that I have read, and will definitely be in my top 10 list of books for 2011.
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