Quotes : Liars Poker (Michael Lewis)

Books

Liar’s Poker is a non-fiction, semi-autobiographical book by Michael Lewis describing the author’s experiences as a bond salesman on Wall Street during the late 1980s.

Things I underlined as I read. I won’t berate you with my opinion. Just a list of things that stood out! Enjoy! Bold = Favorites!

Most Traders Divulge whether they are making or losing money by the way they speak or move. They are either overly easy or overly tense.

1. I recall that I couldn’t imagine myself wearing a suit. Also, I’d never met a banker with blond hair. All the moneymen I’d ever seen were either dark or bald. I was neither. So, you see, I had problems of my own.
2. A few of the very best analysts months into their new jobs, lost their will to live normal lives.
3. The first thing you learn on the trading floor is that when large numbers of people are after the same commodity, be it a stock, a bond, or a job, the commodity quickly becomes overvalued
4. *The idea that art history might be self improving or that self improvement, as distinct from career building, was a legitimate goal of education was widely regarded as naive and reckless. […] some of my classmates were visibly sympathetic towards me as if I were cripple or had unwittingly taken a vow of…