Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1042480 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Ugly Americans documents the "Wild East" of the mid-1990s, where young, brilliant and hypercompetitive traders became "hedge fund cowboys", manipulating loopholes in an outdated and inefficient Asian financial system to rake in millions. Using a concept called arbitrage, they made their fortunes mainly on minute shifts in stocks being sold on the Nikkei, the Japanese stock market, collapsing banks and nearly bankrupting the Japanese economy in the process. Other schemes were also concocted, most of which were technically legal, though certainly unethical. This true story revolves around "John Malcolm", who, in exchange for anonymity, agreed to give Ben Mezrich all the access and information he needed to write this book. As a recent Princeton graduate in the mid-1990s, Malcolm accepted an undefined job offer from an American expatriate in Japan to work in the investments field. Though he had no prior experience, he facilitated 25 million dollars worth of trades on his first day on the job, and it just got more exciting from there. He soon joined a small group of expatriates, all in their 20s and mostly Ivy League graduates, who lived like rock stars, thriving on the stress and excitement of their jobs to create their own steroid versions of the American Dream half a world away.

Mezrich tells this riveting story well, incorporating elements of the culture into his narrative, including the infamous and pervasive Japanese "Water Trade", or sex business, romantic intrigue and even run-ins with the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia. Though there is little real analysis of their financial dealings and how they ultimately changed the rules of finance in Asia, this entertaining page turner does offer a glimpse into a world little explored in print until now. --Shawn Carkonen, Amazon.com

From the Publisher
From the author of the bestseller Bringing Down the House, another extraordinary real-life thriller, a true story of money, risk and life lived close to the edge, set in the Wild East of 1990s Japan.

About the Author
Ben Mezrich is the author of four thrillers, published in the US and in a number of other countries

Customer Reviews

Good Book, same story
Having read "Bringing Down the House" I was quite excited to read "Ugly Americans" and I was a bit disappointed mainly because it is pretty much the same format. Ok, it's a different topic, but deep inside it has the same story. And I have to say it is not as fast paced as I thought. However, it gave me a good insight into the financial business, its life style and Japanese culture. The thing I like from Mezrich's books is that you end up thinking that the stories really happened (which although the author says it's a true story I certainly doubt that it happened). All in all and ok book, that will entertain you and won't take you too long to finish it.

Weak book
The plot is distinctly thin, although nonetheless gripping. The trouble is, Mezrich just isn't a very good writer. He stretches out this book with the most cliched and redundant descriptive passages and the dialogue he includes is total cheese and I don't believe that the people he's describing really talk like that. If they do then they're really not worth glamourising. Also endless references to various characters Ivy League credentials wears thin quickly.

Ferrari in Bermuda?
This 'true' story fell down immediately for me when he describes the hedge fund trader based in Bermuda who has a ferrari.

Bermuda, an Island with a speed limit of 25mph, and restrictions on engine size as well as overall car size resulting in the fact there are no Ferraris in Bermuda.

Why make this up?