cover image Street Freak: Money and Madness at Lehman Brothers

Street Freak: Money and Madness at Lehman Brothers

Jared Dillian. Touchstone, $26 (368p) ISBN 978-1-4391-8126-3

This revealing, personal memoir of a volatile period in the dual lives of a big-time trader and the fallen American giant Lehman Brothers is depicted in the fueled words of Dillian, a major figure at the company. Dillian, the son of a Coast Guard aviator and a teacher, rose through the ranks of Lehman’s highly competitive traders, trying to beat the roller-coaster market by gambling on debt. As Lehman’s head trader, he exposes the chief reason why one of the most profitable Wall Street investment firms collapsed in a storm of scandal and disgrace: “Traders trade everything, not just stocks or bonds. They like to assess probabilities and they’ll bet on the outcome of just about anything.” He writes in a style that veers from gonzo lucidity to precise trader chatter: he believes only insane people who do insane things make money. Dillian draws parallels between his own bipolar and obsessive-compulsive disorders and the problems he witnessed within the Lehman Brothers. In the end, Dillian offers a candid look at the demise of a corporate behemoth. (Oct.)