No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller

Fell Far Short of Expectations

I'm afraid I was terribly disappointed by No One Would Listen. Markopolos clearly has an important story to tell and was at the center of team that uncovered Madoff nearly a decade before anyone else. There is no doubt Markopolos exposed not only Madoff but critical, systemic failures of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

But the writing was thick with Markopolos' arrogance and condescension, and it is clear he remains bitter his arguments were not taken seriously years earlier. That is certainly understandable. But I found his credibility somewhat diminished by vengeance to bring the SEC to its knees--which he did in spades. Someone who prides himself in honesty and the fairness of markets needn't have resorted to the self-serving tactics he resorted to--before his Congressional testimony, gratuitously speaking loudly enough for SEC staffers to hear how he had had "raw meat for breakfast" when asking whether he had any blood on his lips. Perhaps so accustomed to being ignored and poorly treated by the industry, media, and SEC itself, perhaps Markopolos felt the need to punish the idiots directly himself. I found it a turn-off and reminiscent of school-yard score-settling.

So too was the overuse of excessively repetitive metaphors, especially near the end: "Couldn't find their behind with two hands," "Couldn't hit the ocean if they were standing in it," etc. The epilogue felt thrown together at the last minute. Worst of all was his persistent misspelling of "principal" as "principle". As a genius quant who no doubt considers himself principled, as a finance man who must periodically refer to interest and principal, it was terribly grating to find him consistently using 'principle' when he meant 'principal' and further tarnished his credibility. He, his proofreaders, his editor, his publisher couldn't at least catch that?

Markopolos castigates the SEC (deservedly) for incompetence and failure to investigate Madoff, even when offered multiple opportunities. But I wonder, perhaps, did the people at the SEC find Markopolos arrogant and condescending when reading his submissions, or meeting him in person? Did Markopolos insult others as he did throughout his book? Was his quantitative genius perhaps overshadowed by a frustrated demeanor making him seem less credible? Would Meaghan Cheung of the SEC have even tried to check out Markopolos' arguments or asked superiors for help if she herself weren't made to feel foolish?

I didn't really learn a whole lot new from the book, except about SEC incompetence drilled into the reader over and over and over, than from the excellent coverage by the Wall Street Journal.

6 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

Believable and Informative

I learned a lot from this book. It really did read like a real-life thriller, which was surprising since readers already know the ending. The author is to be commended for the clarity with which he explains the inside world of the "quants" how he came to his conclusions. I found it particularly disturbing that so many experts understood the Madoff operation was a sham but did not come forward. This book should be required reading for anyone who argues that any industry will self-regulate. The lack of oversight by the SEC was villainous.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Markopolis is amazing

Markopolis is amazing. When i first watched him in congressional hearings I was cheering the way to made the SEC look like a bunch of morons. This is must read if you are interested in the Madoff ponzi scheme, whistleblowers, and right beats might. I would strongly recommend that you first listen to Harry's testimony on capital hill. Certain essential passages are really brought home when you can impose his voice and mannerisms. The passage on the congressional hearings is classic, as well as when the SEC is forced to listen to him in their offices. Harry Markpolis had the most detailed external inside view of anyone. This book must accompnay any readings on Madoff, and probably should be the first to read. One more thing I would recommnd you do while reading this book is read some of the hundreds of victims statements. Thye are heartbreaking in light of the crime that was unfolding that Markopolis depaerately tried to reveal. Good work Harry!!

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

"No One Would Listen" by Harry Markopolos

Common sense took a distant last, far behind greed, due diligence, herd mentally, etc. for those who invested with Bernie Madoff. Markopolos knew early on that the black box theory when combined with too good to be true returns was simply not reality. If you don't understand what is taking place, and the person performing this mystical and miraculous feat doesn't tell you, then be nervous, doubtful, distrustful, and suspect a fraud of some type. It was not all that long ago that Long Term Capital Management, a super large hedge fund that failed, had lured greedy and so called intelligent investors into their fund using the black box theory. We are smarter than you, we aren't going to tell you how we do it, but invest with us. Markopolos writing style in informative, somewhat humorous and a good read as he details his investigation of Madoff's amazing Ponzi scheme years before Madoff was finally "officially" uncovered. I would have suggested the title to be; "They Listened, But Did Nothing".

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

What a great team this was...

This is an outstanding piece of work. Bernie Madoff was investigated by Markopolos and his team over a period of ten years, and yet this book reads with all the urgency and thrills of a case unfolding now and in a short window. Markopolos admits he is not politically correct, and he holds back no punches for agencies that obstructed, obscured, and ignored information that could have led to the detention of Madoff years before his scheme became widely known. And Markopolos is funny. The language in the book reads as though he were speaking--it has an immediacy, and an irreverence that most of us wouldn't dare commit to paper but which gives the book a refreshing and unstudied artlessness. It is so not lawyerspeak.

This is a book we all need to read. I am here to say it is no burden to put this on your reading list. It is another example of how a good democracy can work. Citizens must take notice of fraud, and speak of it, lest it overtake us. Incompetence in the regulatory agencies we hire to protect us is unacceptable. We might even recognize unfettered greed as the social ill it is. Sometimes I think Americans get confused about this--they might even admire it.

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Informative and enlightening, No One Would Listen tells the incredible story of a Ponzi scheme that stole billions of dollars from innocent investors. It never should have happened. It didn't have to happen. The author tells us why.

This book could have been a difficult read, but author Harry Marcopolos' style sweeps the reader along like a mystery novel. The reader may not understand some of the terms used, but it is never difficult to understanding the concepts.

How did one man - Bernie Madoff - destroy the financial lives of so many citizens with his illegal Ponzi scheme without being found out? Marcopolos tells us in chilling detail, that it never should have happened as he relates an unbelievable chain of events.

Those responsible for policing investments (the Securities and Exchange Commission) WERE alerted repeatedly about the Madoff scheme but would not believe or respond to what they were told. Why? Weakness, negligence indifference, lack of training and knowledge and a degree of arrogance in their ignorance abounded. Whistle blowers were treated badly or ignored instead of accorded respect. The author recommends a complete turnaround of this attitude to encourage and reward those who report wrong doing.

This book not only exposes weakenesses and failures in the Securities and Exchange Commission but gives ideas on how to solve these problems and recommendations for the future.

Large groups of people lost vast amounts of money that will never be recovered. A crime like this should never be be repeated, and this book gives concrete and ideas to ensure that it never does.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Its alright

I was not that thrilled about it. Would I recommend it: maybe.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Madoff Uncovered

This is an extremely thoughtful and precise accounting of the Madoff scandal. Although a bit too analytical at times, Markopolos uncovers this Ponzi scheme at at early stage. Unfortunately, the authorities to whom he presents his findings turn a blind eye. When Markopolos and his team are proven correct many years later, the ineptitude of many of our government agencies are clearly recognized.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

First Prize for Fraud Investigation

If a Pulitzer Prize were awarded to whistleblowers, Harry Markopolos would be the 2010 recipient. In "No One Would Listen," Markopolos provides a detailed, insider's look at his 10-year investigation of Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme and blows the whistle on the ineptness of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Markopolos' expose should be required reading for every federal financial regulator, and every Wall Street investor.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

not worth the effort

pretty much self serving and not very thrilling encapsalation. could have been written in fifty pages easily. the real story is not madoff but the sucekers who bought madoff and the incredible incompetency of the sec, a bunch of pencil pushing freakin lawyers who know nothing about finance.

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - 5 Starts

I loved this book!! I think everyone should read it, and it would make an excellent book for colleges to have freshman read, or at the very least, business/finance majors as part of the ethics requirements.

This book only touched on one incident within the financial world, and as Mr. Markopolos mentioned several times that there are others out there taking advantage of the investors.

After the last year, we are all aware how broken the federal government is but this shed a whole new light on exactly how broken things really are in Washington, DC. I found myself getting more and more angry when reading how the SEC responded to the issues raised by Mr. Markopolos and his team so I can only imagine how they felt when nothing was ever done to stop Madoff.

Read this book!!

It's ok

The topic and research were very good; however, the constant repetition of the evidence and the number of time reported made it a bit monotonous to read. would have been much better had it been condensed.

Nice Read!

I found the book very interesting. It's a wonder times are as bad as they are. Thank you Harry!

Why regulators missed Madoff

When Harry Markopolos began his career in the securities industry, he applied his mathematical skills to the design of investment products. In particular, his bosses wanted him to create investment instruments that competed with those offered by financier Bernie Madoff. When Markopolos found that Madoff's results were impossible to match, he suspected that Madoff was running a Ponzi scheme - not investing money, but paying each investor with cash from other investors. His suspicion led to an investigative odyssey. Markopolos and his team uncovered not only the largest financial fraud in history, but also a dangerously dysfunctional U.S. regulatory system. In this book, Markopolos recounts his frustrating, thwarted efforts to warn the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about the threat Madoff posed to unwary investors. The SEC failed to respond to his detailed written evidence, though Markopolos submitted it five times, starting in 2000, long before Madoff finally confessed in 2008 (he is now serving 150 years in jail). getAbstract recommends this engrossing book to readers who want to learn more about this epic scandal and its implications for financial industry regulation.

Read more about this book in the online summary:
http://www.getabstract.com/summary/13893/no-one-would-listen.html

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