Book Review: “Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World”

“Lewis gives the reader a guided tour through some of the disparate places hardest hit by the fiscal crisis, such as Greece, Iceland and Ireland; tracing how very different people for very different reasons gorged on the cheap credit available in the prelude to the disaster.” — G. “Anand” Anandalingam, dean, Robert H. Smith School of Business in Washington Post

Boomerang: Book Review

Perhaps you have heard of some of his books: “Liar’s Poker,” “Moneyball,” “The Blind Side,” “The Big Short” and “The Money Culture.” All are very engaging books because each one discusses a subject that arouses our curiosity and uncovers ideas about which we rarely think.

“Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World” continues Michael Lewis’ extension of our curiosities with stories about the current global economic crisis that are both funny and educational at the same time. - in Daily News

Long-Term Interests & Short-Term Rewards

“Everywhere you turn you see Americans sacrifice their long-term interests for a short-term reward.”

 - Michael Lewis, Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World

Life`s Outcomes & Luck

"Life's outcomes, while not entirely random, have a huge amount of luck baked into them"

- Michael Lewis at Princeton

A Good Quote From The Big Short

“In Bakersfield, California, a Mexican strawberry picker with an income of $14,000 and no English was lent every penny he needed to buy a house for $724,000.”

― Michael Lewis, The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine

America's Meltdown

"The foundations of America's meltdown started in 1999"

- Michael Lewis author of 'The Big Short'

Video: Princeton Baccalaureate 2012

Michael Lewis, a member of Princeton's Class of 1982 and author of such books as "Liar's Poker" and "Moneyball," speaks at the 2012 Baccalaureate in a speech called "Don't Eat Fortune's Cookie."

Video: Culture Of Wall Street

CNBC video interview, May 2012 - 'Liar's Poker' Author on Culture of Wall Street

Baseball: It Is The Only Sport That Is Transmitted From Fathers To Sons

"The sentimentality of baseball is very deeply rooted in the American baseball fan. It is the only sport that is transmitted from fathers to sons." - in San Jose Mercury News

The Key Dilemma Around Moneyball

The key dilemma around Moneyball, the book by Michael Lewis and the movie based on it (I recommend both), is pretty simple.

The New York Yankees had a payroll of $126 million in 2002. The Oakland A’s had a payroll of only $40 million. How does an underfunded, outgunned outfit like the A’s compete with the Yankees? As A’s General Manager Billy Beane puts it in the movie: “There are rich teams, and there are poor teams. Then there’s 50 feet of crap. And then there’s us.” - in Daily Reckoning