House of Cards

A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street

By: William Cohan

Narrated by: Alan Sklar

Length: 25 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

In March 2008, Bear Stearns, a swashbuckling 84-year-old financial institution, was forced to sell itself to JPMorgan Chase for an outrageously low price in a deal brokered by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who was desperately trying to prevent an impending catastrophic market crash. But mere months before, an industry-wide boom had "the Bear" clocking a record high stock price. How did a giant investment bank with $18 billion in cash on hand disappear in a mere 10 days?

In this tour de force, Cohan provides a minute-by-minute account of the events that brought America's second Gilded Age to an end. Filled with intimate portraits of the major players, high-end gossip, and smart financial analysis, House of Cards recounts in delicious narrative form the dramatic events behind the fall of Bear Stearns and what it revealed about the financial world's progression from irrational boom to cataclysmic bust. House of Cards is the Rosetta Stone for understanding the dramatic and the unprecedented events that have reshaped Wall Street and global finance in the past two years.

©2009 William D. Cohen (P)2009 Tantor

Wanted to hear what happened

I was employed by Lehman Brothers and left shortly before the collapse. I wanted to find out the big picture.

Mesmerizing Story, But Sad Human behavior

House of Cards was a thoroughly engaging read(listen). Found the narration to be superb especially the tonality used for CEO Jimmy Cayne's Voice. At some points it felt like I was actually there listening to these guys in their office. The story of hubris and greed is a sad commentary. Such is the case that "bankers/brokers" making ten's of millions of dollar a year were able to destroy a company with 13,000 employees and an 80 years history. Little or no technical jargon. No need to be in finance to enjoy this book. Like to walk when listening to books and was able to walk farther and longer than usual because I found the story so interesting.

Riveting, interesting, learned alot

This is the story of Bear Stearns. The narrator has a "fly on the wall" approach. I felt like I was in the room and getting to know all the players. I know very little about Wall Street but in this economy my interest in how the economy works (or doesn't work) has become very interesting to me and this book is very timely. After listening to this book, almost non-stop, I am starting to understand what is going on. I am sure I have enough knowledge to "predict" as well as the "CNBC" talking heads what is going on.

Anyway I highly recommend. I love books that read like novels---this one.

Impressively well written.

William Cohen clearly made an effort to explain what happened at Bear Stearns in a well told story.

My house is your house

An interesting storyline version of the mess that brought down the economy and housing market. I found this version to be a more engaging account than other related books on the subject. Only problem was that it was a true story that affected us all and will continue to do so for at least a generation. The sheer apathy, greed and display of shock at their (the financial sector gurus) own demise astounds the reader. If you are a homeowner who refinanced during the mid 2000s take heed. You're nothing more than milking cow to some greedy creatures higher up the economic food chain.

One of my favorite audiobooks

I could not stop listening to the book. In my car, at home, it didn't matter. Great story of a very tumultuous time in US History.

Great play-by-play of a historic moment

The play-by-play of Bear Stearns last few years and final demise was quite enthralling for anyone in the business. The middle of the book gets a bit slow as the author gives a pretty detailed history of the making of Bear Stearns. But worth the listen overall.

Very Detailed but Good

I like unabridged books because I like the detail of "being there." I won't say listening to this was easy - the material is complex and dozens of characters are involved - but it did frequently have me on the edge of my chair.

Is there any detail Cohan thinks is too minor to include?

I don't think so.
And not great on the systemic issues either.
But plenty of interesting story telling too.

Riveting "Read" About Credit Crisis

Cohan has written a riveting "read" about the fall of an American financial powerhouse. Using almost no jargon, he tells the story of how 84 year old Bear Stearns fell virtually overnight. He does so in small easily accessable increments which, eventually, provides the reader with a cogent whole picture. Highly recommended for anybody with even a marginal interest in how the credit crisis came to be.