Both books are about tales and excess of successful (for us monkey) finance professionals. What book do you prefer and why?
Would you have any books of the same type to recommend? Not looking into textbooks but more into autobiographies with a funny twist or any funny/easy to read finance books.
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Monkey Business: Swinging Through the Wall Street Jungle
https://www.amazon.com/Monkey-Business-Swinging-Through-Street/dp/04466…
This was one of the things that helped me to decide not to go into investment banking, but rather the buyside
If you've only read Straight To Hell, I highly recommend listening to the audio book. They reader makes it even better.
Never read Straight to Hell, but thought Buy Side was one of the best biographical books on Wall Street I've ever read. Definitely recommend it. Why I Left Goldman Sachs is good too
Both are good. The Buy Side seems to be a lot more introspective and about an outsider “fitting in” Wall Street Culture. Bonus he worked for Raj too. Straight To Hell seems to be someone brought up to be in Wall Street Culture, with a ton of humor.
I would recommend reading both, why not?
I've read both as well, just asking for POVs and similar book recommendations
I read Flash Boys many years ago, it was like The Buyside but very depressing (not that The Buy Side wasn't at parts). Interesting read.
"Damn It Feels Good To Be A Banker"
https://www.leveragedsellout.com/
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I recommend both of those books.
Straight to Hell is funnier and unapologetic while The Buy Side has a more serious introspective edge to it. The Buy Side makes you think "why am I trying to make a fuck ton of money."
Read Straight to Hell first then get brought back down to reality with The Buy Side.
Cityboy, Beer and Loathing in the Square Mile - I didn't read Straight to Hell but I presume Cityboy is the most similar to it on my list. It's written by a guy who spent about eight years in ER at three different banks in London. He also wrote two novels in the same vein.
Street Freak - My favourite book of this kind. The author worked in ETF trading at Lehman Brothers between September 11 and the bankruptcy of the firm. It is less about debauchery than about breaking in, details of trading strategies and the stress of the job. The author used to frequent this forum a few years back.
When Genius Failed - Detailing the rise and fall of Long Term Capital Management. You might remember John Meriwether (the founder of LTCM) from a few short passages in Liar's Poker when he was head of domestic fixed income arbitrage at Salomon Brothers.
Den of Thieves - About a string of security fraud and insider trading cases in the 1980s. It follows the stories of Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Martin Siegel, and Dennis Levine. Also details the rise and fall of Drexel Burnham Lambert and Kidder, Peabody & Co. The author went through heaps of court documents and the book is a long and sometimes tedious read compared to the other books in this thread.
Free Food for Millionaires - In case you're interested in a novel about the daughter of Korean immigrants breaking into NY IB. The author interviewed many bankers, traders and MBA grads so it felt quite accurate to me. The title is derived from the story that the MDs are always the first in line when there is free food in the office. My favourite book this year.
Any other books you know similar to Cityboy / life as an ER analyst?
Unfortunately, I don't know any other books with the same topic and style. Most books on finance are more of the sober variety.
There are a couple books that were adapted into movies you probably already know. Rogue Trader by Nick Leeson (his 1.6 billion trading losses in 1995 bankrupted Barings Bank), The Bonfire Of The Vanities by Tom Wolfe (investment banking in the 80s) and American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis (investment banking in the 90s, the book is supposed to be more graphic... yeah I know).
Maybe you find a book in this old thread. I think Traders, Guns and Money will be my next finance read. https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/newer-books-like-rise-fall-of-lt…
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