How the mighty have fallen

Too Big to Fail is an inside story of how Wall Street and Washington fought to save the financial system and themselves.

A review by Hatim al Kindi

In Too Big to Fail Andrew Ross Sorkin, an award-winning chief merger and acquisitions reporter for The New York Times unfolds the first true behind-the-scenes, moment-by-moment account of how the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression evolved into a global disaster. From inside the corner office at Lehman Brothers to secret meetings in South Korea, and the corridors of Washington, Too Big to Fail is the definitive story of the most powerful men and women in finance and politics grappling with success and failure, ego and greed, and, ultimately, the fate of the world’s economy.

This book deals with several issues during the period of the US economic recession. First, Why the US government let Lehman Brothers fail in 2008, but not American International Group (AIG). Also, how the bailout process proceeded, starting with AIG and how US financial officials convinced bankers to take bailout cash.

This book is easy to read and follow despite its 600 pages. It is a true story not just a look at banks that were ‘too big to fail’, but a real-life thriller about a cast of bold-faced names who themselves thought they were ‘too big to fail.’

Ring side view

Sorkin interviewed more than 200 people, spending some 500 hours with high government officials, Wall Street luminaries, and others privy to critical moments. These included Dick Fuld of Lehman Brothers, Hank Paulson the Treasury Secretary (and former Goldman Sachs bigwig) at the time of the meltdown, Jamie Dimon, George W. Bush, David Einhorn and the list goes on. Even Jim Cramer makes an appearance. Sorkin has also managed to gain access to personal e-mails and confidential documents. Such as the resignation letter of Lehman Brothers CEO Richard S. Fuld sent to the chairman of the Federal Reserve of New York, abandoning his position on the regulator’s board in the days before the investment bank filed for bankruptcy.

Indeed, this is a unique book. It is not just an ordinary business book but what his publisher call “a true-life financial and political thriller,” that includes dialogue of powerful bankers and top government officials. The genuinely written details of the events, gives the reader a sense of living the book. For example, the author describes a Saturday morning meeting in July 2008 at the Rye (NY) mansion of Morgan Stanley chief John Mack, during which Lehman’s Fuld gives hints on the possibility of a partnership between the two firms. In addition, very few commentators have managed to shed light on Lehman’s last days, thus making this book even more unique.

For all of this, if you are a reader of business books, most especially accounts of the shocking financial crisis, Too Big to Fail is nothing less than required reading.