Product Description

Behind the City of London’s façade of sharp suits, fast cars and lavish expense accounts lies a world of cruel deception, savage double-dealing and rampaging egos. For ten years, David Charters lived the life. Now he lifts the lid on what really goes on in the Square Mile. Not only are these short stories shocking, surprising and entertaining; they are also absolutely authentic.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34095 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

About the Author
David Charters entered the City in 1988, after five years in the Foreign Office, joining SG Warburg Securities where he spent seven years, dealing with such notable flotations and share issues as Disneyland Paris, British Telecom and Eurotunnel. He left Deutsche Bank in 2000 after five years as Managing Director in the bank's Equity Capital Markets team where he oversaw, among many others, the flotation of amazon.com and France Telecom. David Charters lives in London.

Customer Reviews

Highly recommended
It's no wonder that booksellers in the Square Mile are struggling to keep the first book by David Charters in stock. He exposes the distortion fields through which City people see themselves and the world in a series of brilliantly observed stories, whose unexpected twists of plot surprise and delight. Highly recommended.

Plenty of Tears
Love or loathe the unwritten codes of behaviour that drive people in the City to become increasingly isolated from reality David Charters' No Tears is a totally compelling collection of short stories. All are well crafted and each has a twist in the tale which whets the appetite to continue on to the next and the next.... so that I finished the collection in one sitting.The author has an acute understanding of the politics,egos,backstabbing and greed that are part and parcel of everyday existence in large investment banks, as US regulators are now realising. But beyond the tales of excess and selfish behaviour he raises deeper questions - just what sorts of people are these? Do they have any values beyond a desire for even more money in their bank accounts? If these are representative of how life now is in the Square Mile then one can see why he has turned to other interests. However, how fortunate we are that he has the skill to transcribe his acute powers of observation into such a compelling read. Roll on the next volume; will it be the City again or another angle on the darker sides of human nature?

No Tears
Unusually for a collection of short stories, No Tears left this reader wanting more. The stories are set mainly in the City of London and feature those whose daily toil involves moving, spending and earning vast wads of money. The rewards for these people are enormous - but they function under scarcely imaginable stress, and not surprisingly it takes its toll in terms of their humanity and , sometimes, their sexuality too. You don't have to be a lefty to wonder how it is that the games they play are so disassociated from what happens in what the economists are pleased to call the real world - not that such a concept would concern them much. They operate in a climate of fear, greed and a debauch of permanent self-regard. The author clearly knows his stuff and he includes some sharply observed insider details. The effect is surprisingly sardonic and informed with a certain puritan zeal that gives these tales extra bite. It's as if Roald Dahl were fused with the FT. Horribly compelling...