um book club: rigged - part 4
February 5, 2008 by Cash
Characters
- David Russo - Protagonist, Harvard MBA, born / raised in Brooklyn, Italian-American
- Dominick “The Don” Gallo - Biggest trader on the floor, part of NYMEX since start, $300 million fortune
- Khaled Abdul - Nephew to Sheik Oman, part of royal UAE bloodline
- Nick Reston - President (youngest ever) of NYMEX. Mentor / guide to Russo
- Serena - David Russo’s south American girlfriend
- Stephen Seebeck - Signature Asset Management worker from London, heavily into Dubai nightlife scene
In the final section ,we follow David and Khaled’s push to make the Dubai exchange a reality, including their plot to bring the board of the NYMEX to Dubai. Along the way, the mysterious “Jasmine” emerges and attempts to seduce David, while a gang of (apparently) ill willed thugs try a physical attack after hours on the trading floor.
I really enjoyed the Jasmine element, and thought the book’s conclusion was satisfying enough, given the construct of the story. Overall, as discussed, it would have been great to dig deeper into the characters. I also feel there could have been more discussion of the specific financial rewards the main players achieved.
Thoughts? Comments?
I know someone with a Kitchen Aide Mixer… It’s real nice.
it certainly whetted my appetite on finding out more of the details but failed to deliver as a whole. too much verbal MSG. still, was fun.
Yeah goat, agreed. Definitely my least favorite of his books I’ve read.
I would’ve liked to enjoy the Jasmine element myself…
I read this book about a week ago when I saw it on this blog and I have to agree with Cash. It was entertaining, but slow, repetivie language, and not nearly as personal as the last two I read. If you guys are looking for another good book about badass financial markets guys, try “When Genius Failed” about Long-Term Capital Managment.
I worked for a huge hedge fund very similar to that and we had a 1.5 Billion dollar loss that resulted in the closure of the fund last year. It was depressing, but quite the experience. The book is earily similar to what happend to our fund. The Predictors is also a great story about people taking on Fin Markets.
Thanks for the comment Brian! I’ll have to look into the other books you mention. I was kind of disappointed with Rigged considering how much I enjoyed Bringing Down the House, Busting Vegas and even Ugly Americans.