Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall StreetLiar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street
Score Classic
What it's about
In the mid-1980s Michael Lewis, fresh from studying art history, landed a job as a bond salesman at Salomon Brothers, then the most powerful firm on Wall Street. He tells what he saw: a training program full of crude young men, traders who bet millions on a game played with dollar bills' serial numbers, the invention of the mortgage bond, and greed on a scale he could hardly believe.
Why it's worth reading
It hit #1 on the New York Times list and launched Lewis's career. It's very funny and still the classic portrait of 1980s Wall Street.
You'll love it if you liked
Den of Thieves
Too Big to Fail
The House of MorganGood to know
It's short and breezy. Lewis later wrote The Big Short, about where the mortgage bonds led.
By the numbers
- Readers69 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller40 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #50 of the 85 self-help and business books we rank
- #70 of the 119 science and ideas books we rank
- #367 of the 762 classics we rank
- #1249 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story, Thought-provoking
More by Michael Lewis
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
Moneyball
Flash Boys
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The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
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Poverty, by AmericaExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Science and ideas booksTop 25 · 119 ranked
Self-help and business booksTop 25 · 85 ranked
Classic booksTop 25 · 762 ranked
Books of the 1980sTop 25 · 202 ranked
Fantasy booksTop 25 · 459 ranked
Mysteries and thrillersTop 25 · 555 ranked
Literary novelsTop 25 · 309 ranked
Memoirs and biographiesTop 25 · 290 rankedQuick answers
Is Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street worth reading?
Yes. It hit #1 on the New York Times list and launched Lewis's career. It ranks #1,249 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 70.5 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street about?
In the mid-1980s Michael Lewis, fresh from studying art history, landed a job as a bond salesman at Salomon Brothers, then the most powerful firm on Wall Street. He tells what he saw: a training program full of crude young men, traders who bet millions on a game played with dollar bills' serial numbers, the invention of the mortgage bond, and greed on a scale he could hardly believe.
How long does it take to read Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street?
About 6 hours (256 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street?
If you liked it, try Den of Thieves by James B. Stewart, Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin or The House of Morgan by Ron Chernow.