Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System - and Themselves

by Andrew Ross Sorkin

Overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTELLER• The definitive account of the 2008 economic crisis, from the award-winning financial columnist and founder of DealBook, with unparalleled behind-the-scenes access to the key players on Wall Street and in Washington

“Too Big to Fail is too good to put down. . . . It is the story of the actors in the most extraordinary financial spectacle in [over] 80 years, and it is told brilliantly.” —The Economist

NOW AN HBO FILM

One of the most gripping financial stories in decades, Too Big to Fail delivers a blow-by-blow account of the epochal economic crisis that brought the world to the brink. Through unprecedented access to the players involved, Andrew Ross Sorkin re-creates all the drama and turmoil of those turbulent days, revealing never-before-disclosed details and recounting how—motivated as often by ego and greed as by fear and self-preservation—the most powerful men and women in finance and politics decided the fate of the world's economy.

This edition has been updated with a new afterword reflecting on the tenth anniversary of the crisis.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780143118244
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/07/2010
Pages:	640
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Andrew Ross Sorkin is an award-winning journalist for The New York Times and a co-anchor of Squawk Box, CNBC’s signature morning program. He is also the founder and editor-at-large of DealBook, an online daily financial report published by The New York Times that he started in 2001. Sorkin is the bestselling author of Too Big to Fail and the co-producer of the 2011 film adaptation, which was nominated for eleven Emmy Awards. Sorkin is also co-creator of the drama series Billions on Showtime.

Read an Excerpt

PROLOGUE
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Too Big to Fail"
by .
Copyright © 2010 Andrew Ross Sorkin.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"...comprehensive and chilling..."
-TIME

"...his action scenes are intimate and engaging..."
-The New Yorker

"Sorkin's prodigious reporting and lively writing put the reader in the room for some of the biggest-dollar conference calls in history. It's an entertaining book, brisk book...Sorkin skillfully captures the raucous enthusiasm and riotous greed that fueled this rational irrationality."
-The New York Times Book Review

"...brings the drama alive with unusual inside access and compelling detail...A deeply researched account of the financial meltdown."
-BusinessWeek

"...meticulously researched...told brilliantly. Other blow-by-blow accounts are in the works. It is hard to imagine them being this riveting."
-The Economist

"Sorkin's densely detailed and astonishing narrative of the epic financial crisis of 2008 is an extraordinary achievement that will be hard to surpass as the definitive account...as a dramatic close-up, his book is hard to beat."
-Financial Times

"Sorkin's book, like its author, is a phenom...an absolute tour de force."
-The American Prospect

"Andrew Ross Sorkin pens what may be the definitive history of the banking crisis."
-The Atlantic Monthly

"Andrew Ross Sorkin has written a fascinating, scene-by-scene saga of the eyeless trying to march the clueless through Great Depression II."
-Tom Wolfe

"...Sorkin has succeeded in writing the book of the crisis, with amazing levels of detail and access."
-Reuters

"Sorkin can write. His storytelling makes "Liar's Poker" look like a children's book."
-SNL Financial

Editorial Reviews

Comprehensive and chilling.”
—Time

“. . . His action scenes are intimate and engaging.” 
—The New Yorker

“Sorkin’s prodigious reporting and lively writing put the reader in the room for some of the biggest-dollar conference calls in history. It’s an entertaining book, brisk book . . . Sorkin skillfully captures the raucous enthusiasm and riotous greed that fueled this rational irrationality.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“Brings the drama alive with unusual inside access and compelling detail . . . A deeply researched account of the financial meltdown."
—BusinessWeek

“Meticulously researched . . . told brilliantly. Other blow-by-blow accounts are in the works. It is hard to imagine them being this riveting.”
—The Economist

“Sorkin’s densely detailed and astonishing narrative of the epic financial crisis of 2008 is an extraordinary achievement that will be hard to surpass as the definitive account . . . as a dramatic close-up, his book is hard to beat.”
—Financial Times

“Sorkin’s book, like its author, is a phenom . . . an absolute tour de force.”
—The American Prospect

“Andrew Ross Sorkin pens what may be the definitive history of the banking crisis.”
—The Atlantic Monthly

“Andrew Ross Sorkin has written a fascinating, scene-by-scene saga of the eyeless trying to march the clueless through Great Depression II.”
—Tom Wolfe

“Sorkin has succeeded in writing the book of the crisis, with amazing levels of detail and access.”
—Reuters

“Sorkin can write. His storytelling makes Liar’s Poker look like a children’s book.”
—SNL Financial

From the Publisher

If you have a wallet, a purse, or a bank account, Andrew Ross Sorkin is a name you should know. This award-winning New York Times financial columnist is regarded as a trustworthy business authority on the current global economic crisis. To assert that his DealBook website is popular is to understate: This financial news service attracts more than 2.5 million unique monthly users. His daily online business newsletter has more than 200,000 subscribers. This tightly embargoed book on Wall Street and Washington is already a topic of free-ranging speculation on the Net.

Sorkin's prodigious reporting and lively writing put the reader in the room for some of the biggest-dollar conference calls in history. It's an entertaining, brisk book…Sorkin skillfully captures the raucous enthusiasm and riotous greed that fueled this rational irrationality.
—The New York Times

Paul M. Barrett

. . . brings the drama alive with unusual inside access and compelling detail . . . A deeply researched account of the financial meltdown.

Business Week

. . . meticulously researched . . . told brilliantly. Other blow-by-blow accounts are in the works. It is hard to imagine them being this riveting.

The Economist

Sorkin's densely detailed and astonishing narrative of the epic financial crisis of 2008 is an extraordinary achievement that will be hard to surpass as the definitive account . . . as a dramatic close-up, his book is hard to beat.

Financial Times

. . . comprehensive and chilling . . .

TIME

. . . his action scenes are intimate and engaging . . .

The New Yorker

Comprehensive and chilling.”

Time

Sorkin has succeeded in writing the book of the crisis, with amazing levels of detail and access.”

Reuters

Andrew Ross Sorkin pens what may be the definitive history of the banking crisis.”

Atlantic Monthly

Sorkin’s densely detailed and astonishing narrative of the epic financial crisis of 2008 is an extraordinary achievement that will be hard to surpass as the definitive account…As a dramatic close-up, his book is hard to beat.”

Financial Times

Sorkin’s prodigious reporting and lively writing put the reader in the room for some of the biggest-dollar conference calls in history. It’s an entertaining book, brisk book…Sorkin skillfully captures the raucous enthusiasm and riotous greed that fueled this rational irrationality.”

New York Times Book Review

Andrew Ross Sorkin has written a fascinating, scene-by-scene saga of the eyeless trying to march the clueless through Great Depression II.”

Tom Wolfe

Brings the drama alive with unusual inside access and compelling detail…A deeply researched account of the financial meltdown.”

BusinessWeek

Sorkin uses his considerable knowledge and skills as a business reporter to present a comprehensible chronology and analysis of this monumental event...[Hughes’] presentation is clear, with the straightforward delivery that such an intricate narrative demands. He achieves the necessary balance of a pace that is brisk enough to engage yet sufficiently measured to allow the listener to absorb the incredible amount of detail that makes Sorkin’s book so fascinating. This combination of a skilled author’s accessible text and a talented narrator’s performance makes Too Big to Fail too good to miss.”

Audiofile

Meticulously researched…told brilliantly. Other blow-by-blow accounts are in the works. It is hard to imagine them being this riveting.”

Economist

His action scenes are intimate and engaging.”

New Yorker

Sorkin’s book, like its author, is a phenom…an absolute tour de force.”

American Prospect