
Too Big to Fail
The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System--and Themselves
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Narrated by:
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William Hughes
About this listen
A real-life thriller about the most tumultuous period in America's financial history by an acclaimed New York Times reporter. Andrew Ross Sorkin delivers the first true, behind-the-scenes, moment-by-moment account of how the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression developed into a global tsunami.
From inside the corner office at Lehman Brothers to secret meetings in South Korea and the corridors of Washington, Too Big to Fail is the definitive story of the most powerful men and women in finance and politics grappling with success and failure, ego and greed, and, ultimately, the fate of the world's economy.
"We've got to get some foam down on the runway!" a sleepless Timothy Geithner, the then-president of the Federal Reserve of New York, would tell Henry M. Paulson, the Treasury secretary, about the catastrophic crash the world's financial system would experience. Through unprecedented access to the players involved, Too Big to Fail re-creates all the drama and turmoil, revealing neverdisclosed details and elucidating how decisions made on Wall Street over the past decade sowed the seeds of the debacle.
This true story is not just a look at banks that were "too big to fail"; it is a real-life thriller with a cast of bold-faced names who themselves thought they were too big to fail.
©2009 Andrew Ross Sorkin (P)2009 Penguin AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
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"Andrew Ross Sorkin has written a fascinating, scene-by-scene saga of the eyeless trying to march the clueless through Great Depression II." (Tom Wolfe)
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By: Michael Lewis
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Barbarians at the Gate
- The Fall of RJR Nabisco
- By: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 22 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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A number-one New York Times best seller and arguably the best business narrative ever written, Barbarians at the Gate is the classic account of the fall of RJR Nabisco. An enduring masterpiece of investigative journalism by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, it includes a new afterword by the authors that brings this remarkable story of greed and double-dealings up to date 20 years after the famed deal.
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Good book but too dense
- By Andrew M. on 08-01-21
By: Bryan Burrough, and others
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This Time Is Different
- Eight Centuries of Financial Folly
- By: Carmen Reinhart, Kenneth Rogoff
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Throughout history, rich and poor countries alike have been lending, borrowing, crashing - and recovering -their way through an extraordinary range of financial crises. Each time, the experts have chimed, "this time is different" - claiming that the old rules of valuation no longer apply and that the new situation bears little similarity to past disasters. This book proves that premise wrong.
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necessary piece to understand the current crisis
- By D. Littman on 12-04-09
By: Carmen Reinhart, and others
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Conspiracy of Fools
- A True Story
- By: Kurt Eichenwald
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 30 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Say the name 'Enron' and most people believe they've heard all about the story that imperiled a presidency, destroyed a marketplace, and changed Washington and Wall Street forever. But in the hands of Kurt Eichenwald, the players we think we know and the business practices we think have been exposed are transformed into entirely new, and entirely gripping, material.
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Great Story
- By Adam M Pokorski on 06-06-06
By: Kurt Eichenwald
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The Big Short: Wie eine Handvoll Trader die Welt verzockte
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: David Nathan
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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"The Big Short" erzählt von der Erfindung einer monströsen Geldmaschine: Ein paar Hedgefond-Manager sehen das katastrophale Platzen der amerikanischen Immobilienblase nicht nur voraus, sondern sie wetten sogar im ganz großen Stil darauf. Den Kollaps des Systems befördern sie unter anderem mittels des sogenannten "shortings", Leerverkäufen von Aktien großer Investmentbanken. Doch zu jeder Wette gehört auf der anderen Seite auch einer, der sie hält.
By: Michael Lewis
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A History of the United States in Five Crashes
- Stock Market Meltdowns That Defined a Nation
- By: Scott Nations
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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In this absorbing, smart, and accessible blend of economic and cultural history in the vein of the works of Michael Lewis and Andrew Ross Sorkin, a financial executive and CNBC contributor examines the five most significant stock market crashes in the United States over the past century, revealing how they have defined the nation today.
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A solid telling of crucial history
- By Philo on 06-17-17
By: Scott Nations
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The End of Wall Street
- By: Roger Lowenstein
- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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The End of Wall Street is a blow-by-blow account of America's biggest financial collapse since the Great Depression. Drawing on 180 interviews, including sit-downs with top government officials and Wall Street CEOs, Lowenstein tells, with grace, wit, and razor-sharp understanding, the full story of the end of Wall Street as we knew it.
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Great investigative work, terrible narration
- By Jonathan on 04-12-10
By: Roger Lowenstein
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House of Cards
- A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street
- By: William Cohan
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 25 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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In March 2008, Bear Stearns, a swashbuckling 84-year-old financial institution, was forced to sell itself to JPMorgan Chase for an outrageously low price in a deal brokered by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who was desperately trying to prevent the impending catastrophic market crash. But mere months before, an industry-wide boom had "the Bear" clocking a record high stock price. How did a giant investment bank with $18 billion in cash on hand disappear in a mere 10 days?
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Riveting "Read" About Credit Crisis
- By Thomas on 04-25-09
By: William Cohan
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Stress Test
- Reflections on Financial Crises
- By: Timothy F. Geithner
- Narrated by: Timothy F. Geithner
- Length: 18 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Stress Test is the story of Tim Geithner’s education in financial crises. As president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and then as President Barack Obama’s secretary of the Treasury, Timothy F. Geithner helped the United States navigate the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, from boom to bust to rescue to recovery.
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Gripping
- By Jean on 06-03-14
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Barbarians at the Gate
- The Fall of RJR Nabisco
- By: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Narrated by: Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Length: 3 hrs and 2 mins
- Abridged
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Barbarians at the Gate has been called one of the most influential business books of all time, the definitive account of the largest takeover in Wall Street history. Bryan Burrough's and John Helyer's account of the frenzy that overtook Wall Street in October and November of 1988 gives us not only a detailed look at financial operations at the highest levels but a richly textured social history of wealth in the twilight of the Reagan era.
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Abridged and Poorly Read
- By Jake on 01-24-13
By: Bryan Burrough, and others
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The Last Tycoons
- The Secret History of Lazard Freres & Co.
- By: William D. Cohan
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 32 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Discretion, secrecy, and subtle strategy were the weapons of choice at Wall Street investment bank Lazard Frères & Co. For more than a century, the mystique and reputation of the "Great Men" who worked there allowed the firm to garner unimaginable profits, social cachet, and outsized influence in the halls of power. But in the mid-1980s, their titanic egos started getting in the way, and the Great Men of Lazard jeopardized all they had built.
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Good stuff
- By Mr. M Metwally on 09-07-07
By: William D. Cohan
What listeners say about Too Big to Fail
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- Laura
- 01-11-10
Surprisingly Revealing
Initially, I didn't even consider listening to this book since I'm well aware of current events, and I thought it would be repetitive. After all, didn't we get enough of the daily harping on the factors contributing to our economic crisis? But The Economist listed it as one of the best books of the year, so I thought I would give it a try. In fact, Too Big to Fail is not a dull chronology of the events leading up to Lehman's failure and the creation of TARP; rather, it exposes the sentiments, conversations, decisions, and intentions of every major player and government figure involved with Wall Street's financial rescue. It reads like a suspense novel and is full of gossipy, fascinating tidbits which one would never hear on the news.
Sorkin's awareness of private conversations and correspondence between government regulators and the investment banking firms' staff is absolutely incredible. Since there haven't been any lawsuits accusing Sorkin of slander, I can only assume that they are truthful portrayals. He must have convinced friends, spouses, government staffers and high-level figures alike to recount everything they had witnessed, heard, or said. I don't know how he managed to do all of that and publish the book in such a short amount of time, but it's pretty impressive.
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39 people found this helpful
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- david
- 07-21-24
David V
Excellent book however I now have new questions and will have to continue to read more about this collapse
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1 person found this helpful
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- Ambrose A. Dunn-meynell
- 07-03-11
good for the serious listener
Having listened to the book whilst driving etc. i found it hard to keep up with. This is a massive work packed with details and seems too much for causal attention. I tend to agree with the reviewer who advised that print is better. If you want to devote your time to listening to this book you will find it a monumental work packed with insights.
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- Super Nana
- 03-04-15
Outstanding Coverage of Critical Events!
Sorkin has done a phenomenal job compiling the events of the toughest financial times in recent history. Also, outstanding narration.
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- Armand
- 01-03-12
One Perspective.
This account is but one of the many different perspective on the 2008 financial crises. A fascinating listen on the personalities and egos involved in the entire mess. You have to stop and wonder at times how the author was able to get the intricate details of key conversations and meetings that makes the story so much more interesting. However sometimes the details are overwhelming and a distraction and you tend to lose track of the main theme. True I may have a short attention span but I found myself struggling to remember the many characters involved at times.
In my opinion, this book should be heard/read after having finished "All the Devils Are Here" (McLean and Nocera). That way you've just gotten the big picture view and history of The Crises and now you're ready for the detailed character descriptions.
Overall an interesting read!
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- Michael
- 06-24-23
A great narrative history of the crisis
Ross Sorkin did a very good job of humanizing the financial crisis. He was pretty even handed in his narrative. However I don't think he gave enough credit to Bernanke Geithner and Paulson. I believe their actions during the crisis were nothing short of heroic. William Hughes does a masterful job of narration. Personally I wish they had saved Lehman Brothers. They certainly wanted to but with the political circumstances at that moment in time it was impossible. This book is taylor made for audible. That format fits nicely with the narrative. All things considered, a great audible book.
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- Martin Cerna
- 12-15-24
Interesting from start to finish
I liked how easy it was to understand. And the book was interesting throughout. Nothing else to add.
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- CKB
- 01-02-25
Great storytelling.
This story of the 2008 financial crises is told with meaningful insight and intrigue. You feel like you were in the room when various events unfolded.
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- Anandasubra
- 12-20-09
Wonderful informative inside story
This book straddles great spaces, across times. Unless you have the big picture in mind when you listen, you will think the author is ranting about Lehman and Geithner alone.
The book starts with descriptions of each personality; Dick Fuld, Geithner, Paulson so that when the fun really starts you can easily relate to their behavior with the background the author has provided earlier.
Half of the book is about Lehman's hurtle into bankruptcy and how Fuld, because of his greed and head-in-sand approach prevented Korean investors, and almost everyone from buying Lehman. It also discusses how Lehman's complaint about short sellers was not acted upon by Paulson, who suddenly acted on short sellers when they started attacking Fortress Goldman.
It also states how bankers from Morgan stanley and Goldman high-fived each other when they hear the Fed is bailing out AIG.
We also hear the background as to where the magical number of $700bn came into TARP.
All through the book, one thing becomes clear: Banks can and will expect the government to bail them out when they are in trouble but are very reluctant to share the profits with the government.
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10 people found this helpful
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- Darryl
- 05-09-10
Best Account of Crisis
I have read many books and lived through the hour by hour meltdown and this is by far the most accurate account of those events. Excellent format, and auditory. A must read.
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1 person found this helpful