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| The Murder of Lehman Brothers, An Insider's Look at the Global Meltdown |  | Author: Joseph Tibman
Publisher: ipicturebooks
Category: eBooks
In Stock
Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 59,381
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Edition: First Kindle
ASIN: B002SSUUUC
Publication Date: October 13, 2009
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Product Description
“To me, as a multi-decade, veteran Lehman investment banker, the breathtaking death of my firm appeared impossible as little as three days ahead of the bankruptcy filing. Not only did I consider our “master of the universe” firm invincible, but, like my colleagues, when it became clear we were in deep trouble, it was unfathomable that the US government could misstep so foolishly as to let any bulge bracket investment bank simply fail. The worst case seemed to be the Bear Stearns route.”
For the first time, Joe Tibman pulls back the kimono to share intriguing information and detail about Lehman Brothers and the economic meltdown that has never before been revealed:
• How Lehman Brothers almost went under 10 years earlier but was, in a lucky turn of events, rescued from the brink of disaster when the U.S. government bailed out Mexico before it defaulted on billions of dollars in bonds?
• How, in the most detailed and intimate account of Lehman after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, when the firm and its people were ripped from their home, Fuld’s “One Firm” strategy finally took root, sweeping away the vestiges of internal war inside Lehman’s own halls, turning tragedy to triumph for a newly united firm where survival and success meant much more than a payday?
• What role did Paulson play? Cox? Bernanke? Greenspan? Geithner? Clinton? Phil Gramm? Congress? Summers?
• What role did George W. Bush and his posse play in creating conditions that toppled the financial markets?
• Could the current crisis have been averted? Read how SEC Inspector General David Kotz shouted to all who would listen that lawyers and a financial firm interfered and lost an opportunity to potentially head-off the crisis.
• How much does Congress really understand about the financial markets? How did PBFS – Post-Bailout Fatigue Syndrome – fuel the murder of Lehman and the resultant crumbling of the financial markets?
• No reporter has ever been able to uncover why the rating agencies rated subprime securities so high. These agencies have never come clean with a clear statement on this issue. They just fired subprime analysts. For the first time in this book, Tibman discloses the key facts behind the subprime rating disaster.
The author worked in finance, both in commercial and investment banking for decades. For most of his career he was employed by the now bankrupt Lehman Brothers, where, over the years, as a senior investment banker, he held several positions. Like many Lehman colleagues, he holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from two highly regarded, elite universities.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 18
 An absrbing and enlightening book by an honest insider October 29, 2009
accidentalreviewer (Somers, NY)
41 out of 47 found this review helpful
I am a retired college professor. Like most Americans, I am not expert in finance and economics. Fortunately my retirement savings are conservatively invested, and so I did not suffer life-changing losses after Lehman filed for bankruptcy protection, but I know many who did. Like many, I found myself anxious to understand what had happened to cause such hardship for so many people. I have never before written an Amazon review, but am inspired to do so now because reading "The Murder of Lehman Brothers" profoundly transformed and deepened my understanding of the financial crisis. As a former educator I am immensely impressed by this book. It explains the financial crisis for a reader who is not an economist or a financial professional. At the same time, like the most enjoyable of books, I could not put this down. I was hooked as soon as I read the prologue.
I am not generally a reader of business books. However, because the financial crisis has so deeply affected out country, I wanted to understand its causes. While I knew the crisis could not be solely blamed on Lehman Brothers, I thought a Lehman book would explain what happened at that investment bank in a larger context. I saw Lawrence McDonald's "Colossal Failure of Common Sense," a book by a former Lehman employee, on the New York Times bestseller list and decide to give it a try. The book was a highly readable disappointment. It did in fact simplistically blame the Lehman failure on a handful of Lehman executives, and did so with considerable anger. It is a given that large global events are rarely so easily explained.
Several weeks later I came across Joseph Tibman's book. To be honest, the dramatic title was initially a turn-off. I expected the book to be mainstream pulp by a greedy investment banker seeking to cash in on the crisis. However, as I flipped through the book, I could see that this was actually something very different. There were chapters devoted to the causes of the crisis. Also, I noticed that there were a substantial number of footnotes on many of the pages. These explain financial terms and concepts so that a reader like me can more thoroughly understand what happened.
most importantly, this book enables its readers to understand events that were previously too technical to grasp. At the same time this is by no means a textbook. In fact the prologue and ther passages read like a novel. What Tibman accomplished is a neat trick that, as a published professor, I know is extraordinarily difficult. He has written a book one "cannot put down,' a page-turner that also teaches. After completing "The Murder of Lehman," I found myself explaining the financial crisis to friends. To my great surprise, when they challenged my reasoning, I was able to substantively respond. It was only then that I realized that the book subtly allowed me to form my own view of certain events open to interpretation. While Tibman has many strong views and an ability to communicate his incites, not everything in "The Murder of Lehman Brothers" is presented as black ans white. This is one of the books accomplishments. It does not pretend to have all of the answers. As is always the case with events of this magoitude, years hence historians will disagree about this financial meltdown.
The Murder of Lehman Brothers begins with an excellent prologue that reads like a novel. It was this that initially hooked me, and led me to explore further. The first chapter is summarized history of the firm. While I read it, there were interesting passages that may not be similarly appreciated by younger readers -- the firm financed industries that were a backdrop to many years of my life. At the same time, this is a chapter for all to read carefully. I found myself, flipping back to it. Much that occurred years ago formed a basis for, or at least foreshadowed, what would later happen to the firm. This larger context always exists, but in books of this type (non-fiction that is has many elements of a memooir) is often absent. The next chapter, on the aftermath of 9/11 at Lehman is the most emotional chapter. It is here that you see Tibman's passion for Lehman Brothers most poignantly expressed. Tibman also had the good sense to forego gruesome descriptions of the 9/11 assault. Instead you hear a very American tale of people subsequently coming together under adversity. It was also, in reading this chapter, that as a lifelong liberal Democrat I viewed investment bankers as people rather tha greed driven tacit criminals operating within laws they had lobbied for in Washington.
From this point forward the author begins to explain the roots of the financial crisis, skillfully weaving this into his narrative. The tender feelings for Lehman investment bankers and traders in the 9/11 chapter were mitigated by the questionable ethics among many in the financial world that are later described. Of course, this is as it should be. Little in this book is presented as black and white. Consistent with this, while the author clearly lays a great deal of blame for the current economic crisis at the feet of politicians and regulators in Washington, he does not pick sides. Given my own political views, I was initially unhappy and disappointed that Tibman was outspoken about failings of the Clinton administration. I told myself that after all he was turning out to be a typical Wall Street Republican. But then, tt wasn't long before I saw Tibman equally criticize Republicans. A positive of this book is that in the tradition of journalism I was unable to discern Tibman's political leanings. It is, however, apparent that he views few in Washington as up to the job of regulating the financial sector.
Much of the balance of the book explains the unfolding crisis at Lehman. While Tibman doesn't interupt this with calls for change, it is difficult to see how anyone, Republican, Democrat or Independent, could come away from this book without realizing that economic recovery by itself is not a fix for all that is wrong in Washington and financial markets. While Tibman does not preach, it is clear that he intends this book in part as a call to arms. In fact he quotes from the film "Network" a scene where a newscaster encourages his viewers to open their windows and shout, "Im mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore."
While there is even more to praise than that which I have covered in this review, in the interest of balance I will point out the few shortcomings of the book. As mentioned above, it is part narrative and therefore, by definition, is not without indulgence. Of course, it is also the personal aspect of the book that makes it so compelling. I'm not sure this could be avoided by any insider writing such a book, but it is an imperfection. Additionally, in a chapter or two, while explaining many of the causes of the financial crisis, Tibman moves back and forth in time. This did not derail me, but a discussion of events in perfect chronological order could have made for a somewhat smoother read.
These are minor complaints. I have been lending the book to friends and I recommend it to everyone who can read. I suppose the book may reveal less to many on Wall Street than to the rest of us. Still, the book makes clear that Wall Street must change. It could do no harm for financial professionals who shoulder a substantial portion of the blame for what has happened to our country to hear from one among them this outcry. To Tibman's credit (perhaps facilitated by writing under a pseudonym) he makes no excuses for his own place in an industry where ethics are not a consideration. Such admissions are uncommon.
Read This Book if You Want to Understand Wall Street January 9, 2010
desburnet (New York)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The Murder of Lehman Brothers is a terrific book, one that will help anyone understand the workings of Wall Street a bit better. And it's a great read.
I work in the financial services industry and have read a number of the books that have come out over the last year purporting to explain what caused the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression. This book provided the best insight, in large part because of the authentic and honest voice of author Joseph Tibman.
Tibman is a former Lehman banker and the only true insider to tell the story of the firm's demise and explain its widespread impact. I can see why the author felt he needed to use a pen name in order to hide his identity. Only those who have worked on the Street can really understand or explain complex issues like collateralized debt obligations and the wheeling and dealing that goes on, and now Joe's revealing some of the inner-most secrets. He would not be welcomed back to Wall Street if his colleagues knew his name.
From the very first page and anecdote, Joe tells it like it is, and gives us a true idea of the thinking of investment bankers, from those at the very top to those throughout a large organization who are, at times, as confused by what's going on at their own firm as anyone on the outside.
He doesn't hide his admiration for the investment banking industry and for the Lehman Brothers that he once knew. But he is also highly critical of the culture of excess, and he makes you realize that, without a wholesale reformation of Wall Street and government regulation, these sorts of excesses are bound to happen again, no matter what the bankers or the government tell you. Nor does he pretend that he saw the whole thing coming. And he does this in a fact-filled, entertaining book that's easy to read and, at least for me, hard to put down, especially as he recounts the final days at Lehman.
It's a shame we don't know the real name of this author, for I'm looking forward to his next book.
Great Read December 13, 2009
Mark T. Williams
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Joe Tibman does a great job putting the reader on the 31st floor of Lehman before and during its fall. A concise book and nice to get additional insights of this tragic event.
Insightful and Entertaining November 16, 2009
G. McDermott
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Having followed the events closely, and knowing a lot of the actors involved, The Murder of Lehman is truly insightful and entertaining.
The Insider's Book You've Been Waiting For October 8, 2009
Robert1322
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
Finally, an insider who writes with intelligence (and surprisingly) heart about what it was really like inside Lehman Brothers in the months running up to it's collapse. This book is so well written and researched it will leave you wanting more. Joseph Tibman writes without the usual hyperbole, soundbites or self-importance that one has come to expect from an insider's book. He also sheds new light on the role of the ratings agencies as well as who was really in charge at Lehman. This book goes well beyond the headlines and digs deep into the the culture and personalities of the institution at the center of the global economic meltdown. This is the book that you've been waiting for.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 18
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