Den of Thieves

The reviews here give a pretty accurate description of this book. Stewart is a very engaging writer and rarely gets bogged down in irrelevant details or pointless digressions. He is a writer any journalist would want to emulate.

However, the big drawback is that he is too negative and seems and makes it seem that Wall Street serves no function other than to make the richer richer. In fact, junk bonds and hostile takeovers can have significant benefits for the economy. Furthermore, Milken had some serious issues with confronting reality, but he was nonetheless correct in his general belief that a diversified portfolio of junk can make sense. The author tend to pain junk bonds too negatively, they have problems, but they also have very significant benefits, just like everything else. I wish the author would have described the benefits a little more thoroughly. Finally, I don't think the author ever got into the nitty gritty details of why "insider trading" is wrong, this would have been helpful instead of just relying on the implicit assumption that insider trading is evil. Unfortunately, there is actually a very fine line between breaking the law and merely engaging in "arbitrage." The public would have been better served if this thin line was explored a bit more.

This book looks hard at the insider trading scandal of the eighties, and dissects the actions and motivations of all the key players. A brilliant and fascinating examination of the intricate and borderline incomprehensible swindles perpetrated by a group of junk bond traders, this book's only flaw for me was that I had a difficult time understanding many of the financial maneuvers employed by the perpetrators. Clearly, I'm not cut out for trading, insider or not. But this book was very well done and extremely interesting.

Stewart has done an exhaustive study of the Milken, Boesky, Siegel & Levine insider trading scandals. At age 11 (old for a book about economics) it still holds up very, very well.
He tells the story of the US Market Crash of 1987 from May, 1986 through November, 1990. His sources are mostly court records and first-person interviews.
There are not enough journalists who can cull the (extensive, and public) record and write clearly about the transgressions that resulted in the evaporation of 1/3 of the entire US Stock Market's value in ONE DAY.
This litigator wishes that there were 10,000 Stewarts combing the court records alone. The "public record" is so rarely used as a source and it is a great waste that more journalists don't take a few hours to look at the current cases pending before their local federal and state courts. Best sellers are made of this stuff!

Stewart has done an exhaustive study of the Milken, Boesky, Siegel & Levine insider trading scandals. At age 11 (old for a book about economics) it still holds up very, very well.
He tells the story of the US Market Crash of 1987 from May, 1986 through November, 1990. His sources are mostly court records and first-person interviews.
There are not enough journalists who can cull the (extensive, and public) record and write clearly about the transgressions that resulted in the evaporation of 1/3 of the entire US Stock Market's value in ONE DAY.
This litigator wishes that there were 10,000 Stewarts combing the court records alone. The "public record" is so rarely used as a source and it is a great waste that more journalists don't take a few hours to look at the current cases pending before their local federal and state courts. Best sellers are made of this stuff!

This book is fantastic! Author James B. Stewart creates a regaling story for the reader with a compelling narrative of the 1980's Wall Street era of greed and glory.

Stewart takes the reader into the lives of the big players on the Wall Street court at the time: Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, and Martin Siegel among many others. In great detail, Stewart provides the full story of the insider trading scandal that nearly destroyed Wall Street. Stewart also shows how these "players" created a series of security scams that made legitimate trading pale in comparison.

Equally as intriguing is the story of the SEC detectives that brought the rampant illegal trading to a screeching halt. Not a detail is spared: The lawyers on both sides. The trials. Judge Kimba Wood! This is as close to the real thing as it gets. A great story from a masterful bard! I rate this book at five stars. Destined to be a classic.

I became engrossed in this book, at times wanting to jump into Investment Banking, which was flovored by the 1980's tone and values that existed more prevalently during this time in American society. After this, one should explore Harvey Mackay's works. How could these four individuals: Dennis Levine, Martin Siegel, Michael Milkin, and Ivan Boesky, do so much before being held accountable? White collar crime is destructive, and destroys many lives. If the payoff is multi-millions, and the consequences are spending a short period of time in a country club, then the green light is on for greed and the "end justifies the means" mentality. I was able to correspond with James B. Stewart about this book and his other works.

In Den of Thieves, James Stewart gives us a gripping account of the insider trading ring that almost brought down Wall Street.
As a student studying finance, I was told to read this book by my cousin who worked in the financial world. After I finished, I had a more realistic view of the intensity of Wall Street. This intense competition and desire for money drove some people over the edge. Such was the case for Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Terry Mulheren, and their cohorts. To a certain extent, these men were driven to cheat and steal by insatiable greed.
You do not have to know much about the financial world to enjoy this fast paced thriller. The joy in this book is in the hunt. Once the SEC became aware of Milken's activities, they had to find a way to prove it and then had to take Milken down. Once Milken was taken out of his office in handcuffs and Rudy Guliani began to build his case, Milken's "associates" began to sing like canaries in the hope of cutting a deal with the government.
I love reading books about criminals who get what is coming to them. Michael Milken and friends deserved every bit of jail time they got. This definitely a book about criminals getting what they deserved. James Stewart draws you in within the first 20 pages, from there I hope you have some spare time because you will not be able to put it down.

James Stewart's Den of Thieves is an absolute for students and Old Hands in the chameleon like world of proprietary trading. It's a mirror image of the fictionalized tale "The Bombadiers", which came out a few years ago. It also reminds me of a joke that used to go around the circuit - it went something like, Whats the difference between Tasmania and Goldman, Sachs? The answer, One is a country that earns $2.0 billion a year and shares it with 25 million people. Goldman, Sachs is a New York investment bank that earns $2.5 billion a year and shares it with 200 people. A must read for students of "the game".

After all these years, low-lifes like Milkin still have defenders when the affadavits on Otter Creek are pretty incriminating.

The most angering fact is that Milkin gets to do his little BS PR act with charities after serving a light sentence at Club Fed.

A lot of us hard-working back-office types lost our jobs over crooks like these guys...do NOT let their defenders fool you: defending them is like defending Gotti or any other mob guy...they are glorified by the same crooks who made a fortune off of their nefarious trading.

THE BOOK: fast-paced, accurate and a time-capsule worthy description of what happened. This is the REAL story...too bad Guiliani was such a wimp (for all his tough talk) that everyone got off with a wrist slap.

This was an outstanding book about some dishonest financiers. You get a good closeup look at some of the most dominant figures in the world of high finance during their time.Michael Milken, Dennis Levine,Ivan Boesky,and Dennis Levine about brought to the front and center due to the efforts of this book. The tactics(such as stock Parking)are explained in this book. The number one financial tool of this era,junk bonds also recieve adequate attention and explanation in this writing. The king of the junk bond Michael Milken is well highlighted in the book as well.Also portrayed in the book was the prosecution efforts of Rudolph Guliani. The greedy nature of these people and of this time is adequately highlighted due to this book. This is an excellent read on this subject. in the book was the prosecution efforts of one Rudolph Guliani

James Stewart's expose on the Wall Streets scandals of the go-go 80's reads like the Oliver Stone film come to life. The stories of such high flying white collar crooks as Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken and how they met their downfall is nothing short of fascinating. These were guys whose genius made them wealthy beyond most people's wildest imaginations, but for whom enough was never enough. Stewart is a first rate journalist and having worked for the Wall Street Journal, he came to be intimately familiar with the particular villians and the heroic agents and prosecutors who caught them. Anyone with an interest in criminology or a few bucks invested in a high risk stock ought to read this.

This is an incredible account of how greediness ruled the days of the unregulated eighties. I just can't imagine how the American justice system can be so lenient to greedy men who systematically stole billions upon billions of the investors' money and only went to prison for less than 2 years. Michael Milken after his prison term of 22 months raked in millions more for advising companies on takeovers and mergers. Boesky still get chauffeured in limousines wherever he goes. I think the American justice was fooled by these evil financial geniuses.

That's is why we see Andrew Fastow of Enron in court today. This is history repeating itself. Look at Jeff Skilling and Kenneth Lay! in a few years, they'll laugh at this justice system.

If you can get through some of the technical stuff presented in this book about how certain processes take place, ones you know only if that is your job, this book is fascinating. It really goes into depth about how these deals would take place. How one person would work for another. The book is very thorough with events that is goes into such depth, sometimes too much depth. Very interesting especially to someone who is interested in this field, especially insider trading.

An absolutely outstanding look at the '80s Wall Street culture and the inside operations of Michael R. Milken, Dennis B. Levine, Ivan F. Boesky, Martin Siegel... and many, many other players on Wall Street, including U.S. Attorney Rudolph Giuliani & the SEC investigations. Wall Street--Economic History worthy of reading.
Other great, outstanding books on the subject: "A Licence to Steal: The untold story of Michael Milken and the conspiracy to bilk the nation." by Benjamin J. Stein; and also: "Ther Predators's Ball" by Connie Bruck.
And because James B. Stewart is such an outstanding writer, I also read, which was a great book as well, written in story book fashion again: "Blood Sport: The President and his Adversaries" by James B. Stewart, a #1 New York Times Bestseller.

The story of Michael Milken is one that should inspire awe throughout the ages. His deeds pail in comparison to any corporate scandal today. This book is a masterful retelling of how Milken and his partners defrauded billions of dollars around the world. It tracks how these rings started and how the FBI, SEC, Interpol and others worked to close them. The arrogance of these men was amazing and their ability to defraud is unmatched. This story is one that has to be read and retold. Highly recommend.

I started this book knowing very little about the main characters. I never heard of Michael Milken or Ivan Boesky until I read this. It was interesting and entertaining to understand what they achieved and what they threw away. This is greed at its best. Some of the most intelligent and successful people in wall street who couldn't handle the success they already attained. I also enjoyed how the author made some of these people look like complete fools. The ones who couldn't succeed on their own so they had to cheat the system to look powerful. Then the ones who could succeed on their own but let their self-indulgence get the best of them. Once you finish this book you will realize these people were the biggest players in the market throughout the 80's.

The book was an excellent narrative, first off. Stewart does a fine job with the "action" part of the story. While it might be true that some of his analysis is off (see other reviews), it still gets the point across.
While obviously Stewart has a pro-U.S. Attorney and SEC slant, if the book was entirely truthful (which indications say is so), then readers really have no choice but to come away with the verdict that Michael Milken, albeit a visionary in some sense and a great salesman, was really a crook who cost the taxpayers billions and unfairly ruled the junk-bond market with an iron fist. Especially interesting is Stewart's theory on how junk bonds contributed to the S&L debacle in the late '80's.
All-in-all, the narrative is great, and the analysis seems to be decent. It really makes the blood boil, however, to learn how Milken especially duped the system and then got away with a too light sentence (although it actually could've been shorter had Milken had more common sense)

What a fabulously appropriate title for an amazing book that brings to life the insider trading scandals of the late 80's. You do not need to be into the financial trade to understand and fully enjoy this book.

As usual reality is more interesting than fiction. Stewart does a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life. The reader is allowed to see that the perpertrators were very complex people and that for some, this was not just solely about greed. Although, at the end it WAS about the money.

This is a wonderful read that I recommend highly!

I have always found the the wave leveraged buyouts in the 1980s fascinating. Stewart does an excellent job of illustrating the key players in the high yield debt market during that period, particularly its chief architect Michael Milken and his firm Drexel Burnham.

This book was very insightful about the misgivings of some powerful financial magnates. However, the writing is poor and the author rushes through parts of the story that leaves the reader with more questions than answers. It is written by a professional journalist and not a novelist, so it reads like a newspaper article, which can be highly condensed for space. I would recommend the predator's ball. It is a much better account. And if you are interested in what Micheal Milken is up to these days check out The Milken Institute. The guy is still a billionaire.

Great book. Paints a clear picture of the "decade of greed" with its characters. Seems relatively unbiased. Although it depicts Dennis Levine as an idiot. The major problem with the book is the number characters involved. Its hard to keep track of all the players (lawyers, bankers, etc) and their actions. Still a great read.

I assume readers who read this book would typically read more than the pre-school picture books. But I think for this book, in particular, it could be more useful if the author added more pictures/photographs of the various characters introduced. Main characters (Milken, Siegel, Boesky, etc) were there. The book, however, introduces a new character almost every 2 pages; this makes it somewhat difficult to identify who's who after a while. More pictures would be nice.
Overall, this is an excellent book with great details to how high finance and insider trading worked back in the 1980s. A definite must read for undergrad students who want to make it in the finacial industry -- the books that you read tell something about your character.

The book is great for the review of ethics within the Investment Banking business. As I work at a private equity firm, the in's and out's of the game, are described very nice. Especially the amount of confidential information passing through me is worth thinking about. The book give a nice picture of what can happen in a world full of greed. Den of Thieves is nice to read and sometime a good laugh about some disturbed bankers.

James Stewart has done an excellent job of gathering information about the insider-trading scandal of the 1980s, so if you're looking for all the details of these events, you'll find them in this book, which is clearly-written and well-organized. What you won't find, though, is great storytelling. Stewart is content to recount one fact after another, rarely putting them in context or using them to build narrative suspense or to reveal character. As a result--and despite the inherent drama of the events it lists--the book is a rather dull read, especially for readers who have no familiarity with the world of high finance. If you want to read a masterpiece of writing about business, try David Halberstam's "The Reckoning."

Vivid account about the corporate take-over wave in the 80s and the boom and crash of the junk-bond industry. Sometimes, a bit lenghty, but very absorbing anyway. Only read it if you are really interested, otherwwise I would suggest "Predator's Ball".

Well written with great research. Gives the reader good insight on world of insider trading during the Drexel Era. I think it's essential for anyone getting in the Sales&trading industry, to have a idea of what went on in the eighties.

This book is amazing. I love reading financial and investing books and this one is just amazing. Its capitvating beginning to end. The way the author subtly explains very technical investing terms is awesome. I had know who the characters were but not the entire depth of their situations. This book tells all! I cant wait to read more of the authors work!

As a returning-college-student studying finance, this book provides an interesting basis for understanding some fundamental legal changes over the past 30 years. I highly recommend this book if you have an interest in stocks or are an investor.

This story is a classic one and everybody know it. But Stewart writes in an easy-to-read and compelling fashion that makes it like you're in the middle of the junk bond world of the 80's. Educational, fun and a must read for those starting out in the financial world.

This classic account of insider trading during the greed decade remains as riveting today as the day it was published. Prize-winning journalist James B. Stewart manages to turn an account of the arcane market manipulation that led to the 1987 crash into a page-turner with all the suspense of a detective novel. And while the main villains here - Michael Milken and Ivan Boesky - have faded off the public radar, their philosophical descendants at Enron, Tyco and Adelphia remind investors that greed and market manipulation will never go out of style. Stewart's richly detailed book is must reading for those who trust their careers or their savings to the markets. We recommend this withering account of over-the-top greed to anyone who works or invests on Wall Street.