A Wall Street Trader's Tale of Spectacular Excess

Fascinating story of the excessive culture of Wall Street.
Turney Duff was a hugely successful trader until it all came crashing down as he sunk further and further into his addiction.
His redemption and his great writing ability make this a great read.

A interesting personal tale of a shallow young man without much of a internal compass beyond the desire for self-gratification and the pursuit of wealth. He could be any one of the thousands of young people on Wall Street today on the same path except he somehow was given opportunities he neither earned nor was prepared for. As a trader, he tells us that he flirted with questionable and possibly indictable transactions but seems without remorse in having done so. He shows us that he was incapable of controlling his addictions to the spotlight and the drug fueled rock-star life he reveled in. He tells us that he had deep relationships with his wife and new-born daughter but makes a lie of that by his actions. His only regrets seem to be that he was eventually cast out of the Street and by his wife.The predictable consequences that followed are depressing. I kept hoping that he could find his way to some stability but alas, this was not to be. This no story of paradise lost and regained, only of talent and life squandered.

This book has shown me great happiness and great sadness. As a current twenties something male, trying to make a break into Wall St, this story is both hopeful yet terrifying. Excellent writing and well worth the read. I hope that one day I can have half the success, with none of the failure as Turney.

Absolutely incredible book! Turney holds nothing back as he presents himself as a sort of Shakespearean tragic figure. We voyeuristically watch and bite our nails as he puts himself into one predicament after another, never trying to hide his flaws from the reader. His style of storytelling really draws you into the story like you're looking over his shoulder as he makes million dollar trades or snorts lines of coke in a hotel room. Having worked on the buy side as a bond trader, it snapped me right back to my old office. He nails the dynamics of a trading floor from the interaction of the groveling salesmen to the overbearing boss. At the end, through all the debauchery and recklessness, you still somehow root for him. And when everything falls apart, I wanted to offer him a hand and an encouraging word. I would recommend this book to anyone.

bit of visibility on the culture and characters behind the recent flurry of insider trading.
the billionaire's apprentice is longer on dates and stats and pedigrees but this helps understand the milieu.
well written by an insider.

I find it sadly interesting as it delivers a very honest recounter of the most dynamic 10 years on the Street from someone who had all and lost all. His story is amazingly dramatic. Let me put it this way. How many 30-year old masculine guys would spend 5 minutes of "corner time" and not walk away from the job after being blamed for a mistake he may not have committed? Or a guy just leaves his party behind when steps outside for a smoke and take a taxi without a word of his whereabouts to the remaining three gents. It is sad that people with the authority and access to the capital can act enormously demeaning; yet, they don't realize it.

I am familiar with craziness of the sales and trading business culture as I personally worked on the floor of one of the bulge bracket houses in the boom time. However, his story is beyond what has been the normally heard on the street. It is worth a published book and maybe a movie.

Do not think of this as a classic though! The world of finance is not functioning like how he describes in 99% of the time. He is the ultimate outlier and cannot represent the mainstream. Take it with a grain of salt!

Turney Duff is a gifted storyteller and The Buy Side a fast and entertaining book that will keep you up late, turning pages to find out what happens next.

The author could be you, or your best friend, or your brother because he's able to make his incredible experiences relatable and suddenly, you're right there alongside him during his highs...and his lows.

Turney's sucked into an unfamiliar world yet manages to find his unique place there and thrive. It's not surprising that one of his most notable talents on the street is likeability because it shines through on every page, even during his not-so-nice-guy moments.

You'll see a side of Wall Street that's pretty disturbing, yet fascinating at the same time. And, throughout the book, you'll cheer for Turney, wanting him to succeed; loving his champions, hating his haters and hoping he'll make it. Does he? You'll have to read it to find out.....

It's one of those books that make you sorry it's over when you finish it. I can't wait until his next one!

I always thought the excessive spending and behavior by Wall St. types was crazy to be the new norm....."Turney Duff" confirmed it was out of control! I enjoyed it thoroughly....it reads like a one man soap opera, and I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.

Duff takes his audience on a fascinating tour of the seedy excesses that only being in control of billions can attract. The tale of hedonistic abandon stems from the creation of an out of control ego enabled by those seeking to share in the crumbs of Duff's extraordinarily charmed life and one in a million opportunities. The highs and lows are many and it is hard to put down.

Great book. Gives a very good insight into Wall Street, but you also have to admire the author's honesty about his own fallibility. And at the same time, it's well written and quite funny at times. I couldn't put it down.

This book is really a very exciting and engrossing novel. Similar to the Wolf of Wall Street, which some people have got negative views on. But this is a very worthwhile read. I for one, loved the Wolf of Wall Street and I loved The Buy Side just as much.

Not technical as some other reviews have pointed out, but very entertaining. The reader can see early on that a train crash is eminant, but he manages to keep it on the rails much longer than I first thought.

Comparisons to Michael Lewis and Jay McInnerny are spot on. I was drawn into Mr. Duff's growing up story, but wasn't keen on his long death spiral. He burned plenty of bridges when this book was published. He names names and I was impressed with the truth telling.

The book describes the author's career as a hedge fund manager. It goes into some detail about how he impressed his bosses, got entertained by his brokers and his eventual descent into cocaine taking. The book concentrates more on describing the life and lifestyle of a hedge fund manager as opposed to the technical side of hedge fund management such as portfolio design and stock picking.

The first part of the book, which I found the most interesting, describes the author's early career. He was a sales assistant at Morgan Stanley for five years doing grunt work before he was hired by the Galleon Group. Galleon was fated to become infamous because of its founder, Raj Rajaratnam's, later conviction for insider trading. The author describes his time there and how he got insider 'tips'. The second part of the book describes the author joining Argus Partners (a hedge fund formed by ex-Galleon staff), his party lifestyle and his cocaine addiction. The third part of the book describes the author's marriage, fall from grace and rehabilitation.

The book spends a lot of time describing the 'bad' things the author did such as womanising, taking drugs and engaging in illegal stock market practices. It sounded like it was cathartic for the author to unburden himself but I was disappointed in that there was not much I found beneficial in his description of hedge funds which could help me in my investing. In that sense, the book is more about a person's fall from grace instead of being specifically about hedge funds or stock investing. The stuff about Galleon and Argus felt like they were included to make the book more marketable. Ultimately, I felt there was little reason to feel sympathy or care for the protagonist.

Thoroughly enjoyed this read. It amazes me that I have never heard of these individuals (Turney Duff, Jordan Belfort) until i read their books.

I do not condone the actions of these individuals, however one must marvel at their entrepeneurship.

I mean it. Holy friggin' crap. I've read biographies, seen Wolf of Wall Street, and follow the news but Duff brought the chaos and insanity of Wall Street alive better than anything I've ever seen, read, or heard before. I blazed through this book in less than 48 hours.

The book reminds me of a less funny and introspective version of Liar's Poker. While the tale was interesting, it seemed particularly self indulgent. The guy lucked his way into the industry, made good and then squandered his money. If you like watching successful people crash and burn, then this is your book.

This was a great book, partially because Turney is a talented writer but also because his life was sordid and fascinating. It really gives you good insight into the life of a trader on Wall Street - a life defined by excess everything.

I don't review books to often, but felt compelled to enter something about this one. I think this is a great story, whether you're into "Wall Street" books or not. You definitely do not need to know anything about Wall Street, or trading to enjoy the book. It is written in a way that brings you along and teaches you what you need to know. At it's root, the book is a story about a guy who learns to master a trade he never imagined knowing anything about, and then unwinding because of all the fruits of success that are thrown at him. Without giving them away, my favorite parts of were some of the details of the "excess" mentioned in the subtitle. It's a great read that hangs together well. The author comes across as EXTREMELY honest, which is what you look for in a book like this.

I started reading this book on a Monday night and finished it on a Friday evening. It's a page turner. Reading the tale of the rise of his trading career reminds me of that same feeling I get watching the beginning of every mob movie. I was not expecting the end of this book to be so focused on his personal drug addiction. I expected this book to be more about Wall Street and it wasn't. It was about the Wall Street guys that like to "party". Turney basically made tons of money and wasted all of it, got addicted to drugs, bought a house he couldn't afford and lost it. In the end, he walked away from Wall Street.

I have always been fascinated by what seems to be a very glamorous and luxurious life of some on Wall Street. This book however shows what some guys go through just to get a bit of star dome and the pain associated with this.
A very thought prevocing book

My order came just in time for our family vacation to the DR. Started reading it on the flight down and finished after the first day. My reading appetite was screaming for more, more, more after our second day of vacation! Sneaky good writing and one of those great books that you can't put down.

I really enjoyed this book and I have zero interest in the stock market, Wall Street, trading, etc. Turney does a great job convincing you to like him. You want him to do well, be successful. It is an interesting, well-written account of a real guy's experience on Wall Street.

Turney's story was well written and highly entertaining and interesting. For someone who is not a trader, never done drugs, the book is highly informative. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in Wall Street and trading in particular.

Having worked on the sell side my entire career I was interested in the buy side viewpoint. I was not disappointed. A fast read, funny and informative. A bit more than I wanted to read about cocaine abuse. Otherwise 5 stars.