This is a hands-on review of Michael Lewis’ bestseller, “The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine.” It covers the gripping story of the 2008 financial crisis. You’ll find out how Lewis exposes the reckless practices and corruption that led to the huge collapse of the global economy. Our Big Short book review gives you key takeaways. Here are some highlights:
- The origins of the subprime mortgage crisis
- How Wall Street’s greed fueled the bubble
- Profiles of contrarian investors who predicted the meltdown
- Lessons for investors and policymakers
By picking up a copy of The Big Short, you will gain valuable insights into the world of finance. You’ll learn more about investing and risk management, a key topic many investors overlook. Our review provides lots of context and analysis. This can help you understand what you might get out of Lewis’ book. Here’s why it’s still relevant with today’s markets.
The Big Short Book Review
Here’s the book listing on Amazon. This is one of the lowest cost listings we could find, but also with a good number of reader reviews.
By clicking on the book cover, you’ll find more details. You can learn a lot from other reader reviews. That’s good for getting an average rating and general sentiment. However, here’s a deeper dive into this famous investing book.
Is The Big Short Book Better than the Movie?
The famous film of The Big Short stars Christian Bale, Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling. These are big names and it received critical acclaim. However, the book offers a richer, more detailed exploration of the 2008 financial crisis.
Lewis’ has a great ability to write and deliver memorable stories. His in-depth analysis can give you a deeper understanding of the complex events leading up to the meltdown.
The Big Short book delves into the personalities, motivations and backstories of key players. This offers a detailed portrayal of the crisis. Lewis’ writing style is both engaging and informative. This makes the book an enjoyable read for investors of all levels.
In contrast, the movie is more entertaining. Although, it simplifies the narrative and skips over many details. If you’re seeking a better understanding of the 2008 crisis, the book is the better choice. It gives you more info to improve your understanding of markets and investing.
Even better, you can read both the book and watch the movie. This can help you reinforce some of the key ideas, as well as see gaps between the two.
The Big Short Book Summary and Characters
The Big Short chronicles the 2008 financial crisis. It gives you the perspectives of several investors who predicted and profited from the meltdown. Lewis weaves their stories together. This helps expose the reckless practices of Wall Street. There are many flaws in the financial systems that lead to the crisis.
The book focuses on:
- Dr. Michael Burry: a physician-turned-investor who identified the subprime mortgage bubble
- Mark Baum (real name: Steve Eisman): a Wall Street veteran who bet against the housing market
- Charlie Ledley: An amateur investor and former Bear Stearns trader
- Jamie Shipley: Charlie’s partner and friend
- Ben Hockett: Charlie and Jamie’s business partner
- John Paulson: A hedge fund manager (minor focus)
- Greg Lippmann: A Deutsche Bank trader (minor focus)
- Howie Hubler: A Morgan Stanley trader (minor focus)
Through their stories, Lewis helps reveal the shocking truth behind the crisis. This helps to show the greed, corruption and negligence that led to the collapse. It was a devastating outcome for the global economy.
The Big Short Chapters
This book weaves together different stories to give a bigger picture of the financial crisis. As a result, it’s hard to single out the best chapters.
Here’s a list of chapters in Michael Lewis’ The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine:
Part One: Everything You Know Is Wrong
- A Secret Origin Story
- In the Land of the Blind
- “How Can a Guy Who Can’t Speak English Lie?”
- How to Harvest a Migrant Worker
Part Two: The Big Short
- Accidental Capitalist
- Spider-Man at the Venetian
- The Great Treasure Hunt
- The Long Quiet Time
- A Death of Interest
Part Three: The End
- Two Men in a Boat
- The Song of the Blind
- The Man in the Glass House
- The $15 Billion Rat Hole
- The Wrong Answer
- The Smell of Smoke
- And They Invented Math
- A Death of Interest (II)
- The Fix
Epilogue: Everything Is Correlated
There’s a chapter overview for our review of The Big Short Book. Although keep in mind that some editions might have different chapter sections or titles. But either way, any copy you pick up should cover the main stories and weave them together.
Who Wrote The Big Short Book?
Michael Lewis is a renowned American author and financial journalist. Many investors know his name thanks to The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. However, there’s more to his story and he’s published many famous investing books.
Born in 1960 in New Orleans, Lewis graduated from Princeton University. He then went on to work as a bond salesman at Salomon Brothers. This gave hands-on insight into the investing world. Lewis’ experiences on Wall Street inspired his first book, “Liar’s Poker.” This book is a memoir that exposes the excesses of 1980s finance. He has since written other bestsellers. The list includes Moneyball, The Blind Side, and Flash Boys.
Lewis’ unique blend of narrative skill, financial expertise and insider knowledge makes The Big Short a must-read. It’s a gripping and authoritative account of the 2008 financial crisis. Many critics have praised his writing for its clarity, wit and ability to explain complex financial concepts. This makes his books great for a broad audience.
Contrarian Investing Books
The Big Short highlights contrarian investing. This is a strategy that involves going against market trends and conventional wisdom. Lewis’ book showcases investors who defied the consensus. They bet against the housing market and profited from the collapse. Contrarian investing requires independent thinking, lots of research and challenging prevailing views.
Books like The Big Short, Security Analysis, and The Intelligent Investor share this contrarian spirit. They help investors to think critically, avoid herd mentality and seek undervalued opportunities. By learning about contrarian investing, you can develop a more informed and disciplined approach.
As you’ve now learned from The Big Short book review, going against the crowd can lead to better investing outcome. This is a contrarian approach and that’s why this book is one of the top contrarian investing books. Click on that link to find more books that every investor should read. This can help you gain a better understanding of markets to grow your portfolio.