Financial Doom.....Made Easy!!!!!

Michael Lewis has made a career out of penning books that explore deep into cultures which have their finer details shrouded in mystery.

In The Blind Side, Lewis explores the recruitment of left tackle Michael Oher to Ole Miss (currently plays there and will be a high NFL draft pick). The odd thing about his recruitment is that some prominent Ole Miss boosters took this kid in after he was kicked to the curb by his family. The heart of the book expresses the difficulty in outsiders believing that Oher was welcomed into the booster's home in an act of altruism, or due to dreams of one day being able to sway him to play football at Ole Miss.

In Moneyball, Lewis explores the process in which Billy Beane, GM of the Oakland Athletics, is able to use statistics that he calls Sabermetrics to field a consistent playoff contender despite having near the lowest payroll year in and year out.

However, Lewis' opus is likely Liar's Poker, a look inside the subculture of Wall Street in the 1980's that previously had not left the walls of 85 Broad St. (GS) or 1585 Broadway (MS). This masterfully written article is somewhat of an update to that book, as well as a look at how America's financial institutions have fallen like houses of cards throughout the course of this year. It might take you a half hour, but I can assure you it will be the most well written piece you will read all month.

Enjoy.