Sunday, March 28, 2010

Book Review: Ugly Americans

The book, Ugly Americans: The True Story of the Ivy League Cowboys Who Raided the Asian Markets for Millions, is like a fast paced 180 mph ride on a Ducati motorcycle through Southeast Asia. The book is about a trader during the 1990's who worked as a derivatives trader right out of college for a major brokerage firm in Japan. The protagonist, "John Malcolm" (his real name was changed as were the names of most of the characters, although it is easy to look up who he really is on the Internet), started out as a order placer of Nikkei Index transactions, and eventually became one of the biggest traders in history, eventually making an enormous amount of money for the hedge fund he eventually ended up working for.

Malcolm has interactions with the Yakuza-operated sexrelated businesses (I had never heard of a sexualharassment club before), Japanese mobsters, extreme opulence and decadence with the money earned by many of the traders, major bankruptcies, and much, much more.

Although there is not a lot of technical information about hedge funds and trading, the book holds your attention. If you are looking for an interesting fast-paced read, check out Ugly Americans: The True Story of the Ivy League Cowboys Who Raided the Asian Markets for Millions.

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