Cynical but I think spot on representation of what it was like to work for an investment bank in the 90s. Interesting to read with the collapse of the world economy in 2007 in your mind. It even contains some good investment advice, like 'if the directors are all somehow related to each other, take your money elsewhere.'

A very well written and funny book that gives a glance at the world of Investment Banking. It talks in a funny way about evaluation and pitch deals processes, ... all revolved the life of two ex-investment banker associates level. I learn a lot more about the IB industry after reading this book.

This book is hilarious! While it is full of vulgarity, I just love how honest and down to earth the two authors describe their experience of the banking world. The book is written from the first-person point of view of two former Wall Street associates that eventually quit their jobs after spending two years living the life where you get average 4 hours sleep everyday and risk ruining all the important relationships in your life due to constant absences while continue to dream that one day you will be able to the achieve the banking dream of being rich and important. Unsurprisingly, they quit because while they were getting handsomely rewarded financially (making $200,000 in your 20s) the lifestyle is simply unsustainable.
It reveals a lot of the discrepancies between what people think the banking jobs are and what they actually are – instead of engaged intellectually to come up with good investment ideas, you spend most of your time copying pasting and reusing previous writings to create pitch books that no one really reads, instead of “living large” you’re barely living – getting no sleep, no sex, no meaningful social life just doesn’t fit the definition of a good life no matter how much money you’re making, so on and so forth with many other examples of how reality departs from expectation, ranging from the corporate travelling experiences to meeting with clients (the ideal would be to meeting with clients around the world to understand their business, but the crazy schedule only makes you so tired that no information can get in you head, and you learn nothing about the business, and visiting 7 countries in 5 days shouldn’t be called travelling.)
In the end, as both Troobie and Rolfe quit their jobs, there’s this realization, which I believe applies to all young professionals starting out in their career (it’s not just banking), that while their original thought was that as long as they put in the hard work (and they knew it was hard starting out), they will have a good life – which they were trying to capture with this metaphor of crossing a desert – the hard works – to reach an oasis – the dream life. But what they found out halfway was that (these are just my interpretation of their metaphor of how the banking world is more like a jungle rather than a dessert, and again I think this really applies to any field) while they had expected difficulties (the dessert), the real difficulties and their unexpected varieties and intensities may still surprise them. Both Troobie and Rolfe graduated from Ivy. They probably both possess the typical quality of a good student – hardworking and smart. But hardworking and smartness is simply not enough in the professional world – it might be sufficient for school, but the real-world work environment requires many more skills that were not emphasized in school education and many good students lack – the skills to manage one’s own life and health, to understand your own quality and thereby define what’s important and meaningful to you personally, to navigate the complex human relationships in a corporate system. But maybe they are already doing all these. It just that the banker life really does not allow anyone to manage it well.
In a sense, your expectation and preparation for difficulties will simply not be enough – the professional life, and human life in general, is much more than just being smart and hardworking. And on top of that, your definition of a dream life will also be reshaped, redefined, refined, and made concreted – a dream life is much more than money, but the precise definition of that only becomes clearer as individuals grow and mature with these professional experiences.

This is an entertaining look into the life of post-mba investment banking associates. this book will discourage most people that value some sort of social life from attempting to enter this field despite the outrageous salary packages. I was pretty amused at some of the bawdy aspects of these bankers lives and how they attempt to cope with the long hours (such as trips to strip clubs in the middle of the night). it definitely has demystified and exposed a field which is often painted as glamorous. i was surprised as to the amount of prepackaged baloney that went into the creation of proposals, presentations, and prospectuses. i was also surprised at the sheer amount of financial manipulation that investment bankers use in painting new offerings in a positive light.

This is an incredible book written by 2 Associates who used to work at DLJ back in the day and is the most accurate book I have ever come across for anyone to get a full understanding of what the life of an investment banker consists of. This is one of those books I wish I would have read in college as would have made me even that more excited about what the life was like, but after a few years in the industry, reading it now really allowed me to appreciate everything these guys went through and see everything in a completely different perspective. The 2 came from Wharton Business school and Harvard Business school and the book starts from when they are a 1st year in business school all the way through to them finishing up their 2nd year as an Associate at DLJ. Anyone working within investment banking will be able to relate to this book and will make you feel like you are just reading about your life / job so I actually highly reccommend this book for anyone not working in the field as opposed to anyone working within the field. However, despite the 2 Associates (Peter Troob and John Rolfe) end up both burning out and leaving the firm to go to the buy side at hedge funds, it made me realize that you don't leave investment banking neccessarily because of the work, but you leave investment banking if you burn out. These two describe in the book countless stories of personal sacrifices that they had to make on a nightly basis and consistently over the course of several years which led to almost a breakup with one of their long term girlfriends. Yes they also bash the work and the downsides of the job that we all have heard countless times, but the key thing in my mind that stood out was the continued personal sacrifices these 2 were forced to make for their job. I still believe the job itself is a great overall job whenever you think about things such as learning / compensation / security / etc., but what this book makes you realize that is no job is worth the personal sacrifice. They speak of countless people who have moved up the ranks at DLJ who just had all the money in the world, but so little personal happiness and lives that were an utter mess who they never wanted to be like. Again, highly reccommend the investment banking field for anyone for 2 years and then after that it is only worth staying in the field and moving up the ranks if you can find a situation whereby you are able to have a good work / life balance.

This book presents the chaotic and shitshow-y side behind the thick walls of investment banks.

From an outsider’s perspective, I’ve seen a rather humorous and empathetic view of the 80-hour work weeks, constant stress, verbal and mental abuse at the workplace.

Coming from a self-build background of moderation and somewhat work-life balanced existence - it was definitely a cultural shock to read about the infinite grind culture of Monkey Business over the ocean.

Rather than seeming like a boring whine for 200 pages, the authors kept me engaged with action, commentary and bitter jokes.

The vulgar language thrown here and there, in my perspective, works really well to reflect the culture in the environment.

Though there are many subjects and ideas I disagree with and the perspective of the authors may definitely be incredibly subjective, it was a good read for a boring train ride.

This could have been one hell of a book if the two guys didnt try it too hard to make it the funniest thing on this planet. Its like a sweet romcom turned bad into a porn parody. The messaging is right but the method is horrrible.
The problem is, when Michael Lewis use profanities, it sounds natural and in place. When the same is mimicked by imposters, you can see through it. A funny read is not like a stand up act where everything you write is individually the funniest line ever. So,a good money wasted!

Fast and interesting. Though I feel, slightly exaggerated (but then again, it's based in the late 90's and specific to NYC).
If you are a young MBA student (or even planning to apply for MBA, then this book will give you some idea to decide if I-Banking is what you really want to do.
Otherwise a fun and interesting take on what was once the highest paying profession. Language is crisp and replete with humor.

Fascinating glimpse at the lives of investment bankers on Wall Street--I feel like I actually have a sense of what life looks like for them now. Makes me glad that I'm a quant, instead. :)

A good “investment banking for dummies” book that takes you start to finish through the inter-workings of an investment bank. Good personal narratives of the pros and cons of IB and a humorous look at what really happens in big banks.

Very funny account of life in investment banking from two former associates, Rolfe and Troob. the authors let all of their frustrations about the investment banking world. The book is full of commentary on IB business as a machine where the top of the class compete for ethereal top positions, as well as some pretty laugh out loud moments of how their sanity broke down throughout the high pressure trip of IB. This is a fun read and provides a lot of insight about what it feels like to be in the IB rat race, but offers little useful information on the business, and completely omits the benefits of working in banking. I don't think this should dissuade anyone from banking, but it should help at least as a warning.

I expected this book to be a collection of funny stories and profanities but to my delight it is surprisingly educational. The authors did a great job explaining the intricacies of capital markets and telling their life stories while keeping the reader engaged.

It's also filled with great aphorisms and proverbs. The only things that felt redundant were their excessive attempts to draw parallels between investment banking and idiocy.