Panic: The Story of Modern Financial Insanity

A masterful account of today's money culture, showing how the underpricing of risk leads to catastrophe.

When it comes to markets, the first deadly sin is greed. Michael Lewis is our jungle guide through five of the most violent and costly upheavals in recent financial history: the crash of '87, the Russian default (and the subsequent collapse of Long-Term Capital Management), the Asian currency crisis of 1999, the Internet bubble, and the current sub-prime mortgage disaster. With his trademark humor and brilliant anecdotes, Lewis paints the mood and market factors leading up to each event, weaves contemporary accounts to show what people thought was happening at the time, and then, with the luxury of hindsight, analyzes what actually happened and what we should have learned from experience.

As he proved in Liar's Poker, The New New Thing, and Moneyball, Lewis is without peer in his understanding of market forces and human foibles. He is also, arguably, the funniest serious writer in America.

"Lewis (Liar's Poker) takes readers on a spin through notable recent financial catastrophes including the stock market's 1987 crash, the Russian default and related failure of hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management, the Asian currency crisis, the Internet bust and the recent subprime debacle. While the collection is comprehensive and contains varied and learned commentary, the presented crises beg for more thorough treatment. Lewis is content to rehash the past with (undeniably compelling) previously published analysis by the likes of economists Joseph Stieglitz and Paul Krugman and Wall Street Journal reporters Gregory Zuckerman and Roger Lowenstein. The author wisely includes excerpts from his books and articles, including an account of his time as a trader at Salomon Brothers in the midst of the junk bond crash of 1987 and his observations on the Internet boom and bust. The narrative is certainly elegant and the arguments are on-target; the author lambastes shoddy risk management at financial firms, the 'foolish principles that have guided the behavior of sophisticated Wall Street traders' and the common man in this current crisis, and the problems caused 'by the new complexities of the financial markets,' but readers seeking serious solutions to our current woes will be disappointed." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Lewis (Liar's Poker) takes readers on a spin through notable recent financial catastrophes including the stock market's 1987 crash, the Russian default and related failure of hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management, the Asian currency crisis, the Internet bust and the recent subprime debacle. While the collection is comprehensive and contains varied and learned commentary, the presented crises beg for more thorough treatment. Lewis is content to rehash the past with (undeniably compelling) previously published analysis by the likes of economists Joseph Stieglitz and Paul Krugman and Wall Street Journal reporters Gregory Zuckerman and Roger Lowenstein. The author wisely includes excerpts from his books and articles, including an account of his time as a trader at Salomon Brothers in the midst of the junk bond crash of 1987 and his observations on the Internet boom and bust. The narrative is certainly elegant and the arguments are on-target; the author lambastes shoddy risk management at financial firms, the 'foolish principles that have guided the behavior of sophisticated Wall Street traders' and the common man in this current crisis, and the problems caused 'by the new complexities of the financial markets,' but readers seeking serious solutions to our current woes will be disappointed." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"With exquisite timing, the anthology ends with detailed and depressing essays on the subprime mortgage crisis and the bundling of debt by American financial institutions, and the theory behind those actions." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The author of Liar's Poker and Moneyball guides readers through five of the most violent and costly upheavals in recent financial history. Lewis describes the market factors leading up to each event, shows what people thought was happening, and analyzes what actually happened.

Michael Lewis's most recent best-selling book was The Blind Side. He lives in Berkeley, California, and is working on a book about New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina.