Books : Bear-Trap: The Fall of Bear Stearns and the Panic of 2008
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 332.0973
EAN: 9781883283636
ISBN: 1883283639
Label: Brick Tower Books
Manufacturer: Brick Tower Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 350
Publication Date: September 15, 2008
Publisher: Brick Tower Books
Release Date: September 15, 2008
Sales Rank: 91343
Studio: Brick Tower Books
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Bear, Stearns & Co., a storied Wall Street firm with a maverick reputation, had endured many crises in its 85-year history. Nothing, however, could have prepared the firm for the sudden death spiral that would lead to its takeover for a pittance. In a dramatic showdown with JP Morgan and the Fed, this is the tragic story of how fortunes were made and lost. Bill Bramber, a senior executive at Bear Stearns, had a bird's eye view of just what happened inside Bear's offices and on the trading floor that led to the most sensational financial crisis of our times.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
What I found interesting about this book is the complete lack of responsibility or culpability of a typical Wall Street trader in the financial collapse. Bill Bamber claims his firm was a "martyr for the sins of Wall Street" (chapter 10). That Bear Stearns was anything but a house of cards that employees were profiting handsomely off of while placing investor money at great risk is never made a case for. As the information has no depth other than any one else reading a newspaper would have, this book more supports that conclusion than refutes it.
I'd add that investors of Bear Stearns were also very poorly served by the firms employees, a group Bamber has very little sympathy for. Were the firm's employees really the unwitting dupes portrayed or the wizards of Wall Street they would like to think of themselves as?
This book is also poorly edited and redundent, I slogged through it only to justify my review.
Rating: -
My heart goes out to everyone at Bear, and the author here was first to get a book on this topic off the press. Unfortunately, it was written from the perspective of an "unconnected observer" of the events, and therefore lacks any credibility regarding "providing an insiders account". I got more info from reading the Financial Times than this book. It also shows the speed to rush this to the press because the number of typos in the book actually compelled me to return it to Amazon for a refund, aside from the fact that 80% of the way through the book, I still haven't read a single thing worth my dime. Why did I give 2 starts instead of 1? Because this author got the book out first. That deserves some recognition.
Rating:  -
This book provides a step by step account of life on the trading floor and
it gives good insight into what happened to this powerful company.
I believe the author did an excellent job of describing the mood of
everyone involved and was written in a way almost everyone could understand.
I was somewhat familiar with what was happening however this definetly
added a good amount of first hand insight.
Overall I found this to be a good read that helped increase understanding
of why things came crashing down.
Rating:  -
Now more than ever this book should be required reading in every American High School. Prior to reading this book listening to business commentary was like listening to a square dance mc. In a square dance everyone seems to know just what to do, and when to move, but for me, a native new yorker, it's just jibberish. So I was worried when i picked up this book that I wouldn't be able to understand what the hell the author was talking about. But was I wrong! The author did an exceptional job explaining to me, a person who never took a class in business, how an investment bank works. Now I know what leverage is and what hostile takeovers are, and now when i watch business news and they they talk about CDOs, and LIBOR, and basis points, I know what they are talking about. The author also did an exception job explaining exactly what a sub prime mortgage is, and I know that a lot of Americans hear this word every day, and don't really know what they are and how they helped cause a lot of the problems that are occurring today. So to all my fellow Americans you must go out and read this book, now more than ever it's imperitive that we learn about the basics of banking so we can make informed decisions about our economy, and dance to the rewards
Rating:  -
Nothing new here. If one read the papers, he would be as informed as after finishing the book. Moreover, the author wants us to understand how intellectual he is by presenting historical facts which for the most part are irrelevant. And the whole discourse on being a "tragic hero" is just pitiful. I am not sure where the author is now, but I think he should stick to trading derivatives!
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