A timely, counterintuitive defense of Wall Street and the big banks as the invisibleโalbeit flawedโengines that power our ideas, and should be made to work better for all of us
Maybe you think the banks should be broken up and the bankers should be held accountable for the financial crisis in 2008. Maybe you hate the greed of Wall Street but know that itโs important to the proper functioning of the world economy. Maybe you donโt really understand Wall Street, and phrases such as โcredit default swapโ make your eyes glaze over. Maybe you are utterly confused by the fact that after attacking Wall Street mercilessly during his campaign, Donald Trump has surrounded himself with Wall Street veterans. But if you like your smart phone or your widescreen TV, your car or your morning bacon, your pension or your 401(k), thenโwhether you know it or notโyou are a fan of Wall Street.
William D. Cohan is no knee-jerk advocate for Wall Street and the big banks. Heโs one of Americaโs most respected financial journalists and the progressive bestselling author of House of Cards. He has long been critical of the bad behavior that plagued much of Wall Street in the years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, and because he spent seventeen years as an investment banker on Wall Street, he is an expert on its inner workings as well.
But in recent years heโs become alarmed by the cheap shots and ceaseless vitriol directed at Wall Streetโs bankers, traders, and executivesโthe people whose job it is to provide capital to those who need it, the grease that keeps our economy humming. In this brisk, no-nonsense narrative, Cohan reminds us of the good these institutions doโand the dire consequences for us all if the essential role they play in making our lives better is carelessly curtailed.
Praise for William D. Cohan
โCohan writes with an insiderโs knowledge of the workings of Wall Street, a reporterโs investigative instincts and a natural storytellerโs narrative command.โโThe New York Times
โ[Cohan is] one of our most able financial journalists.โโLos Angeles Times
โA former Wall Street man and a talented writer, [Cohan] has the rare gift not only of understanding the fiendishly complicated goings-on, but also of being able to explain them in terms the lay reader can grasp.โโThe Observer (London)