Great background from the 1980s for what is going on today (2011) in the financial markets. A wise professor has said that the needs of the financial markets to operate and profit now rival if not surpass our inclination to and institutions of democratic self-government. Witness the Greek government yesterday (3 Nov 2011) backing away from a referendum of the people (regarding their austerity measures imposed by financial powers in France and Germany) in favor of not upsetting the financial markets (who predictably like to be repaid with incredible interest on principal). This book shows us just how we fell into this web of "necessity." Communism hasn't triumphed, but money is trying to. One can see in Den of Thieves that the Drexel company culture of "what's in it for me" triumphed over sacrifice for "the good of the company." The same choice is now being played out on a much larger scale in Europe as the social safety net is being reduced toward elimination for the good of the financial markets (they want their money, even though the amount of money paid already could easily have paid off the principal with interest to spare). In contrast, Iceland did not destroy its citizen-conscious socially responsible society when it was decimated by the international financial misdeeds of 2008 (or thereabouts). And Iceland's society today in 2011 is thriving from all accounts. But Europe and soon the United States are heading in the opposite direction, where financial markets falsely persuade "customers" (that's us, the people) that financial needs and solutions are the only possible solutions to society's financially-induced problems. Read this book and weep for the future of our world. It is not behind us, it is us and it is now.

Awesome book, easy recommend. The two-part structure works well, Stewart knows what to begin and end a section with, and you can tell the amount of detail he put into investigating this story. Identifying the four individuals helped keep my attention focused on the main thread, that is, the network that the Boesky-Milken web has thread. Not that they are the main protagonists either, more like they are the most well-known, and Stewart uses that to his advantage in the narrative. It belongs in the pantheon of books that talk about the 80s Wall Street excess.

It's funny that when I first read this book almost 30 years ago, I would have given it 5*. It is a very meticulous account of the biggest insider trading scandal from the 1980's. Reading it now, I mentally put a tag of 'history' on it, as it seems very dated. The technology has changed, so have regulations but greed remains. Greed is a constant.

A detailed accounting of the biggest insider trading in Wall Street that occurred in the mid 80s. The first half of the book details the actual insider trading scheme with Michael Milken at securities firm Drexel as the big fish. The cast of characters that colluded to reap millions in profit reminded me of a cartel. The second half of the book details the unraveling of the scandal and the government’s efforts to prosecute the ring leaders.

The book could’ve been condensed to half its length by leaving out many of the details. For example the book goes into excruciating details of the deals and bargaining that prosecutors tried to employ to bring some of the perpetrators to justice. Given that there were about ten people the government after this got repetitive after a while. Nonetheless, it was gratifying to find that white collar criminals were actually held accountable and served prison sentences unlike the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. However I doubt this episode will eliminate market manipulation by powerful Wall Street brokers. If you want to skin the book, I’d suggest reading the first half, skipping the second half and reading the epilogue.

This is a great slice of spice of the 1980s Wall Street that is brimming with meticulously researched detail. There is drama if not action and sometimes the narration gets lost in trying to enthusiastically explain every cog of the financial world. But it makes up with its characters, real world people who are shades of grey, fallen for the siren of greed. On Wall Street Greed is Good, but the world that these people have fleshed out for themselves cones crashing down on them

Incredible story about the enhancement of one of the most transformational markets on Wall Street, ‘junk
bonds’. Stewart touches on the ethical bounds of which Michael Milken and insider trading giants on Wall Street neglected, which has defined the structure of capitalism as it is today. Must read for anyone interested in finance.

If all it took was a major Wall Street scandal to bring down the center of United States financial institutions, it would have ended with the insider trading scandal covered in James Stewart's Den of Thieves. But as we're all too painfully aware, particularly in today's economy, greed and avarice continues to run amok among the investment banks, traders and law firms that make their bread on Wall Street.

As far as Wall Street crimes go, the insider trading scandal of the 1980s was not much different than the ones that have occurred since. Investment banks and other Wall Street institutions, highly leveraged against political influence, hold the keys to the house as the downtrodden, resource-strapped and powerless regulators can't stand tall enough to look over the fence. But as detailed through Stewart's impeccable reporting and research, the difference with the scandal that took place among the corporate takeover craze of the 1980s was the perpetrators got caught and their feet were held to the fire. At least to some degree.

Stewart, a reporter and editor at the Wall Street Journal while Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken and company plundered millions from junk bonds and selling secrets of financial transactions during the Decade of Greed — this is just limited to the 1980s? Painstakingly assembled from trading records, interviews, SEC documents and deposition transcripts, Stewart weaves a well-reported tale of this important time in America's financial history. While Stewart assumes some level of business and financial sophistication from the reader, the story is readable and even engaging as he explores the personalities of eventual convicts like Ivan Boesky, Marty Siegel and Dennis Levine.

With the benefit of more than 20 years of subsequent history, the importance of Stewart's story is somewhat diminished. Wall Street recklessness continues unabated today, and the major players of the scandal are out of jail following all-too-short prison terms, given the magnitude of their crimes. Michael Milken, the biggest catch in the sea of piranhas in Stewart's book, has managed to rebuild his character through money-infused and heavy-handed public relations tactics not unlike those he forged during his years as the Junk Bond King. But Den of Thieves still emerges as an important read for the present-day observer wondering what's wrong with the culture on Wall Street.

This was similar to The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. I had no idea what was happening with all those dumb financial, banking, or Wall Street business terms. It's all nonsense if you ask me. What would life be like without those entities? That's what I want to know. Yeah this all went way over m head. So if you get this crap then you'll prolly love it, noting the great reviews it has received.

Stewart documents the age of "greed is good". Well-researched, well-written. It shows why laissez-faire capitalism doesn't work. For me thought there are no heroes in the book - the main protagonists are all out to enrich themselves, the people who turn witness are all trying to save themselves, the government employees are all out for self promotion (Giuliani) or to move into private practice. The lawyers in both sides all know each other, the revolving door policy between government and private practice means just perpetuates this problem. Stewart writes: "Fifty years passed between the scandals of the 1920s and their counterparts in the 1980s. If Wall Street escapes another major threat to its integrity for even half as long, the crackdown that culminated in Milken's conviction will have proven of historic value." Less than 20 years passed before the world was hit by a crisis that almost brought the world economy down - all again due to fraud and easy credit. It is hard to see how the outcomes (and the light penalties for those involved) can be considered a success.

Absolutely riveting account of a major insider trading ring in the '80s. I'd only heard bits and pieces about it in the past. Although the book is fairly old, it reads very fresh. Greed in finance is an evergreen topic of course. What I liked the most was the examination into the "why" of insider trading. What motivates each player to give into the temptation. Some it was greed. Others were trying to keep up with the Jones'. But with Milken, I never quite understood his motivation. He was brilliant and making huge money before going to the dark side. Perhaps he truly believes he did nothing wrong. (Based on the Amazon reviews, it looks like a lot of people think he was innocent too.)

Highly recommend. Great reader for the audio edition too.

EDIT:

OMG... Now I am absolutely PISSED off at Simon and SHUCKSTER... I was asked about this books winning the Pulitzer... so I looked it up.

It DID NOT WIN THE PULITZER!

I am looking at the book which I have physically in my possession.

The published a book has a bold red circle which reads "Pulitzer Prizer Winner"... under the author's name it states "#1 National Best Seller" Clearly indicating that book is a Pulitzer Prize Winner.

When I look up the book online. The red circle now reads "#1 National Best Seller" and under the author's name it states "Pulitzer Prize Winner". Clearly indicating the the author, not the book, is a Pulitzer Prize Winner.

I just lost ALL respect for Simon and Schuckster! Review just dropped to 1 STAR.

Here is online cover vs the physical copy that I have. AFAIK that is intentional dishonesty:

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=3...

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I have mixed feelings about Den of Thieves, the 1992 Pulitzer winning book about the largest insider trading scheme Wall Street ever suffered.

On the positive side, the book is a fairly easy read. The book does not feel like a nearly 600 page book. It is a fun book.

On the negative side, it doesn’t rise to the level I expect for Pulitzer Prizes. This book feels more like pulp history than serious history.
That being said, I found several interesting insights.

First, prior to the 1970, most of the investment banking firms were either Jewish or WASP. If you were Jewish, you worked for one of the Jewish firms. If you were Protestant, you worked for one of the WASP firms. Catholics had their token firm, Merrill Lynch. Minorities were simply didn’t have any major options in investment banking.

Second, the list of names associated with this case is a literally whose who among financial figures and politicians of the 80s and 90s. Some of the characters we encounter, unrelated to the corruption, are still major figures today (Charles Schumer, John Dingell {recently deceased}, and Rudi Giuliani)

Third, the story surrounding Ivan Boesky turning states evidence was fascinating. Boeskey’s lawyers get the FBI and SEC to agree to grant him immunity if he confesses to a minor felony and pays a $100,000,000 dollar fine. As the SEC Budget was $105 million, the SEC lawyers thought this bargain would become its crowning moment. Instead, it was compared to the Salk Vaccine (a disastrous implementation of an anti-polio vaccine a generation earlier.) First, the $100 million fine was way too generous to the Boeskey’s. It allowed his wife and children to keep hundreds of millions of dollars. Second, the US government was worried about its ability to acquire the fee. All of Boeskey’s money was tied up in securities. In order to extract a $100 million, Boeskey would have to unload $400-500 in assets. (The sales could not be made without paying other innocent investors.) Boeskey could not simply unload half a billion in stock without causing a massive panic in Wall Street. Imagine Warren Buffet selling a billion dollars today. So the SEC ordered Boeskey to withdraw money slowly over a period of months. This allowed Boeskey to get top value for these withdrawals. Boeskey and the SEC knew that once Boeskey’s inditement became public knowledge, that the market would crash. Which it did when Boeskey’s involvement became public. Suddenly, the SEC discovered how easily it and innocently an act could go from innocence to illegal. By ordered Boeskey to sell stock while the prices were high, before the pending inditement was made public, the SEC became party to insider trading!

What was supposed to be the crowing achievement for the SEC investigators became a major black mark on the firm!

Another thing that makes the book interesting is how long and complex the legal issues took to work out. Boeskey’s being revealed as a state witness was made on November 14, 1985. It took another 5+ years for the case against Drexel and Milken. While Milken admitted guilt and ended up paying penalties that exceeded a billion dollars, his net worth was still estimated to be between $500 million and one billion dollars. While he admitted to wrong doing in this initial sentencing, he’s since distanced himself from that admission. Milken served 3 years of a 10 year sentence and was pardoned by President Trump in February 2018.

Throughout most of listening to this book, I thought to myself A) when is this book going to end, and B) what's the point of understanding something that happened almost 30 years ago? After finishing the book, my thoughts were A) James B. Stewart is a really good investigative journalist! and B) Seems like most of what happened in the book repeated itself in 2008. Can't really say I thoroughly enjoyed the book, but it was definitely a very detailed exposé on what was going on in the junk bond market in the mid-80's. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I was in the banking industry.