Make a difficult subject an attractive reading
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For me the world of derivatives are a known unknown and after reading the book, it remains like that. Derivatives are complex indeed if you don't have experience or are involve in it, but this book helps to provide an idea about the mechanics of the financials markets. The author guides you in this book telling real stories, some from his own experience, about how derivatives have evolved since its beginnings, covering the whole range of derivatives from futures, options, swaps and credit.
Reading the newspaper today, it said that some companies had made some good profits from our country currency valuation against the dollar, thanks to swaps and futures operations --- at least now I have an idea on what they are talking about. I liked this book, I laughed in some parts of it, and for sure I am eager to read more about the subject.
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Disappointing
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I wasn't too impressed by this book. I loved FIASCO and I generally enjoy books such as Liar's Poker, Ugly Americans etc, but this was quite a let down.
A lot of the material feels very familiar; if you have even a passing interest in the world of derivatives, you'll already have read about Orange County, P&G, LTCM etc and you'll find little new information here. I found the later sections on structured products to be much more interesting - the author describes several of these products in detail and his depth of knowledge really starts to become apparent.
There are 3 reasons I rate this book poorly. First, nearly all the personal experiences and anecdotes related in the book are frustratingly lacking in specifics. It's always "A trader at a certain bank was said to have done X", or "a large American bank was discovered to have done Y" - but the exact details are never divulged. I wonder how many of these stories actually happened, and how much is simple gossip and rumour. Sure, he covers the details of high-profile cases in great detail, but I'm left thinking that I could have written this book myself by simply copy-and-pasting factual information from the financial press and padding it out with made-up stories and gossip.
Second, the book is littered with typos. There's talk of accountants "pouring" over balance sheets, TMT as an acronym for "Technology, Media, inTernet" (surely that final T is for "telecoms" ?) and worst of all something called "dvo1" (I assume the author means dv01, with a zero rather than a letter 'o').
Finally, the tone of the book is quite cynical. I was left wondering why the author spent 25 years working in an industry which he seems to be dislike so much. There's a section towards the very end in which the author is describing his experiences as an expert witness in a court case between an (un-named) bank and an aggrieved customer. He comes across as a rather difficult and unprofessional character, dragging his heels and refusing to cooperate in discussions with another expert. It's bewildering that the author seems to take pride in this childish behaviour.
Oh, one more thing - where are the 'guns' that the title refers to ? They're not mentioned anywhere in the book !
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Please read this... but now where do you invest your pension?
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Entertaining, insightful, skeptical rather than cynical. This book opens the can of worms that is Derivatives and those that peddle them. As someone who has spent the last 12 years selling trading systems in to this group, it was fascinating to gain an insight as to why TARNs, PRDC and the Range Accruals were so important. I was very interested to understand the real thinking underlying the various products, many of which have I have had to workshop/demonstrate as part of the sales process when banks go to market for a new trading system.
This is a good book written by someone who has seen it all, he clearly outlines why the trading floors of the major financial centers are little more than casinos that close at 5pm. The lead-in to the recent Credit crisis is well handled in chapter 9.
My only worry now is where now do I invest my pension fund?
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"Stunning", "Electrifying", "5 Thumbs Up!!"
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Das' sardonic description of the derivatives industry provides an extremely entertaining new approach to a genre saturated with glorified good fortune and dire warnings of imminent market apocalypse. The comically acid tone with which he describes every element of the business (from front to back-office) has much more in common with Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" than the academic tomes on credit derivatives and structured products that preceded it.
If you are considering a career in investment banking, this book is required reading. Along with an incredible introduction to derivatives and their impact on financial markets, "Traders, Guns and Money" touches on the frustrations involved in working at every level of the bank, describing the internal friction and disparity between support functions (product control, operations, accounting, risk control... the almost always overlooked segments of the firm that comprise the majority of people at any bank) and the front office traders with a surprising degree of insight.
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This book is a risk free investment of time and money
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Traders, guns and money is an entertaining foray into the complex world of financial derivatives. Satyajit Das manages to take a topic, that has sent countless students to sleep in the lecture room, and make it engaging and yet informative at the same time.
The real beauty of the book lies in the fact that the author has real world experience within the field he is writing about. Hence you do not just read about derivatives and the related formulas and theories. Instead you read real stories where derivatives were involved along with immeasurable amounts of arrogance, greed and money. This approach makes you feel like you a reading a Wilbur Smith book with all its excitement rather than a book on derivatives. Yet all this is achieved without dumbing down any of the anecdotes or watering down his language to fit a "target audience" while all the while never succumbing to peronal ego boosting.
However, unlike many other authors that have tried a similar tact in regards to financial writing, Satyajit avoids the trap of getting lost amongst the stories. Throughout the whole book there is a clear and logical structure which is followed consistently. By the time any reader has finished reading this book, they will feel like an expert on derivatives who has been in the markets for decades. Though these decades of expertise are only gleaned in the short time it takes to read this book.
Guns Trader and Money is easily the best book to open up the world of finance since Liar's poker was released almost two decades ago.
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