Product Description

"Entertainingly indiscreet . . . Knee′s talent for wicked pen portraits is put to good use."––Financial Times

Investment bankers used to be known as respectful of their clients, loyal to their firms, and chary of the financial system that allowed them to prosper. What happened? From his prestigious Wall Street perches at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, Jonathan A. Knee witnessed firsthand the lavish deal–making of the freewheeling nineties, when bankers rode the wave of the Internet economy, often by devil–may–care means. By the turn of the twenty–first century, the bubble burst and the industry was in free fall. Told with biting humor and unflinching honesty, populated with power players, back–stabbers, and gazillionaires, The Accidental Investment Banker is Knee′s exhilarating insider′s account of this boom–and–bust anything–goes era, when fortunes were made and reputations were lost.


"Not since Michael Lewis′s Liar′s Poker has there been as good, as accessible or as pithy a look at the world of investment banking."––The Washington Post


"For anyone who remembers the crazy boom times, and the even crazier bust, Jonathan A. Knee′s The Accidental Investment Banker is a must. This tell–all chronicles Knee′s time at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, revealing a world that rivals 24 in intrigue and drama."––Fortune


"[Knee] captures the glories and agonies of his profession . . . Readers will marvel."––The Wall Street Journal


"Finally we have someone willing to lift the curtain. . . . With refreshing candor and engaging prose, [this book] takes us inside the world of investment banking."––James B. Stewart, author of Den of Thieves and DisneyWar

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #81554 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
"…"warts and all" account of the boom and bust of the late 1990s up until the start of this century." (The Wharf, Thursday 16th August 2007)

"...a Wall Street soap opera in the vein of Michael Lewis′s Liar′s Poker about Knee′s time at Morgan Stanley."  (Financial Times, Saturday 25th August 2007)

“an unusually candid view” (Reuters, Wednesday 5th September 2007)

"…this is a compelling read for both navel–gazing corporate financiers and voyeurs of the City and Wall Street." (CPO Agenda, Autumn 2007)

Reuters, Wednesday 5th September 2007
"an unusually candid view"

CPO Agenda, Autumn 2007
"...this is a compelling read for both navel-gazing corporate financiers and voyeurs of the City and Wall Street."

Customer Reviews

An insider's report on investment banking
Whenever there are dramatic upheavals on Wall Street, shock waves ricochet throughout the U.S. and world economies. And, when you say Wall Street, most people think of its storied investment banks - Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase. Who built and ran these firms? What makes them tick? How did they fare in the booming 1990s? And what is happening to them (at least, what was happening just before the autumn 2008 crackup). Investment banker Jonathan A. Knee, a Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley alumnus, reports on his career and on the investment banking industry. He explains how these firms have changed radically from the days when J.P. Morgan Jr. advised his peers to do "first-class business in a first-class way" to the Wall Street motto of the 1990s, "IBG-YBG" ("I'll be gone, you'll be gone"), meaning, "Who cares what happens long-term regarding the deals we do today?" This shockingly shortsighted viewpoint led to the recent bitter harvest. If you want to understand how Wall Street works - and sometimes doesn't work - getAbstract recommends this informative, insightful and witty book.