The Accidental Investment Banker: Inside the Decade That Transformed Wall Street
Jan.29, 2010 in
American Equity Investments
Product Description”Entertainingly indiscreet. . . Knee’s talent for wicked pen portraits is put to good use. ” – “Financial Times”. Investment bankers used to be known as respectful of their clients, loyal to their firms, and chary of the financial system that allowed them to prosper. What happened? From his prestigious Wall Street perches at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, Jonathan A. Knee witnessed firsthand the lavish deal making of the freewheeling nineties, when bankers rode the w. . . More >>
The Accidental Investment Banker: Inside the Decade That Transformed Wall Street
January 29th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
This book was a joke. You could have written a more in depth look at the world of Investment Banking if you had just read Fortune magazine for the time period that this author covered. The publisher should be ashamed of themselves for wasting the paper to print this thing.
Rating: 1 / 5
January 29th, 2010 at 10:57 pm
I’ve read other books from this genre ie. Liar’s Poker and Monkey Business and have been waiting for a book like “The Accidental Investment Banker” to arrive on shelves. Knee has the fun and entertaining style of Michael Lewis and John Rolfe but there is one key difference–Knee is still in the business in which he dissects–with many more years under his belt than said authors.
His story focuses on the rollercoaster ride that was the 90’s internet boom and bust, and how it changed the tone of Wall Street for good. Using anecdotes and real life power player bankers, Knee explains how relationship banking came to a terrible demise. No longer is the Street’s motto, “First class business in a first class way”. Now mercenary bankers dictate how deals are made. Through Knee’s fascinating account the reader is able to penetrate the walls of the grandiose institutions (such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs–where Knee worked in the 90’s) to see what REALLY went on behind closed doors.
Not only should this book be prerequisite reading for current bankers and young bankers-to-be, but it also serves as a demystification for all of us that wonder what investment bankers actually do, and how it affects us. And, the reader gets a lot of laughs along the way.
Rating: 5 / 5
January 29th, 2010 at 11:48 pm
This was a pretty easy read, but lacked any really compelling narrative. Most of what it’s said has been said before, and sometimes in a much more entertaining way. If you can stand the raunch, I would much more highly recommend Monkey Business: Swinging Through the Wall Street Jungle.
All in all, not a bad read, but maybe wait until it shows up at your local library.
Rating: 3 / 5
January 30th, 2010 at 1:08 am
If you have spent some time on, near or around the securities industry (Wall Street), you’ll enjoy this book. It presents a lot of good info and perspectives on the investment banking business as practiced by the biggest such firms. Lots of good vignettes about key people. Very well written and readable. But, unless you have the indicated background or at least a passionate interest in the “Street,” you may well find the Knee book too esoteric for you.
Rating: 5 / 5
January 30th, 2010 at 1:10 am
I had been looking forward to reading this book for quite some time & purchased it the day it came out. Although the book is a pretty easy read & at times entertaining there really was nothing new.
I have read most if not all of the “Wall Street” investment memoires & books and this would rank in the middle of them. Liars Poker it is not.
Rating: 3 / 5