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The cover of Liar's Poker

Liar's Poker

Michael Lewis, 1989

Michael Lewis recalls his years selling bonds at Salomon Brothers in the 1980s, when the mortgage boom made untrained young traders rich and mismanagement brought the firm low.

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13 parts, about 31 minutes to read.

Why read it

  • Explains how wild interest rates and a borrowing boom turned bond trading into a money machine for young, unskilled salesmen
  • Shows how home loans became tradable bonds, and how a firm's culture can profit quietly at its own customers' expense
  • An insider's funny, uneasy confession from a salesman who admits he was paid far beyond his worth to society

Who it is for

  • Graduates weighing a career on Wall Street
  • Investors who want to know how brokers really make money
  • Readers curious where mortgage bonds first came from

What the summary covers

  1. Preface1 min
  2. Liar's Poker2 min
  3. Never Mention Money2 min
  4. Learning to Love Our Corporate Culture3 min
  5. Adult Education3 min
  6. A Brotherhood of Hoods3 min
  7. The Fat Men and Their Marvelous Money Machine3 min
  8. The Salomon Diet3 min
  9. From Geek to Man3 min
  10. The Art of War2 min
  11. How Can We Make You Happier?2 min
  12. When Bad Things Happen to Rich People2 min
  13. Epilogue2 min

Recommended by

  • Tom WolfeAmerican author
    The funniest book on Wall Street I’ve ever read.

About the author

  • Michael LewisAmerican author and financial journalist; former Salomon Brothers bond salesman
    • Born 15 October 1960 in New Orleans
    • MSc in economics 1985
    • Bond salesman at Salomon Brothers in London
    • Liar's Poker (1989) described his Salomon experience
    • Vanity Fair contributing editor 2009 to 2026

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