Summary
'The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine', written by Micheal Lewis is based around the US housing market and how the Mortgage Bond market played a key role in the 2008 global recession and how some of the book's key characters benefited from this demise. Unlike most books written on finance, this non-fiction text is both interestingly humorous and informative. It mainly covers the findings and background of the individuals who shorted (bet against) the US housing market, using the Credit Default Swaps. The book provides a real-world glance into Wall-Street and how even some of the biggest institutions like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley lose against single investors like Micheal Burry.
Due to the macro-economic view of this book, the concepts in this text are relatable to all financial audiences around the world.
Clarity of Financial Concepts
The beauty of this book lies in its simplicity of conveying messages of some financial complexity to all sorts of audiences. If you are someone who is interested in financial matters and wants to explore more financial concepts, this is the book for you. It explain each of the financial concepts in a simple and easy to understand manner that allows you to learn new concept while following the plot.
The Bond Market
The stock market has become one of the most popular topics among the general public. However, as stated in the book, 'The equity world is like a f***ing zit compared to the bond market.' The bond market even in India is huge, however the general public knows little about this sector as virtually the only entities dealing bonds are corporations, the government and PSUs(Public Sector Undertaking). If you want to choose a finance stream to work in the future, this book is an ideal gateway to the Bond market and its basic workings.
Memorable Quotes
The book continues to portray new ideas that challenge and heavily oppose general societal views. Giving the reader this different perspective would really open up his/her mind. To give you a small glance of Micheal Lewis' perspective, i have picked out some of my favourite quotes from this book:
“A Home without Equity Is Just a Rental with Debt,”
“I really do believe the final act in play is a crisis in our financial institutions, which are doing such dumb, dumb things,”
“That was the reason the casino bothered to list the wheel’s most recent spins: to help gamblers to delude themselves.”
How To Buy the Book in India
Luckily, this book is available on Amazon and can be shipped right to your doorstep. To order this book, click on the following link:
