Michael Lewis, author of the original Wall St expose "Liar's Poker", couldn't resist the temptation to jump on the bandwagon and write a book about the latest financial meltdown. Since "Liar's Poker", Lewis has carved out a successful writing career and has clearly evolved as a writer: his writing style is light and easy to read, and he spins an interesting yarn.
What sets "The Big Short" apart from the flood of other books on the same topic, is that Lewis focuses on a positive angle: the small group of money managers that were shrewd enough to see the crash coming -- and who made a lot of money "shorting" the subprime housing market (betting against it). For the most part, they did this by buying "credit default swaps", effectively insurance policies against the bonds based on sub-prime mortgages. On the other side of the trade in these "financial weapons of mass destruction" were many of the investment banks and, in particular the american insurance giant AIG, who duly got into deep doggy-doo when the music stopped.
BOTTOM LINE: An easy, enjoyable read that gives a good understanding of what went on in the sub-prime crisis from the point of view of those who saw it coming.
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