Comments (27)

Boomerang

Travels in the New Third World
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Feb 04, 2023PHILLIP GARY SMITH rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
What goes around comes around, except in financial terms, which Michael Lewis in "Boomerang" states so well: "When you borrow a lot of money to create a false prosperity, you import the future into the present . . . Leverage buys you a…
Jun 13, 2022sdb177 rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
Mike Lewis phones it in. A lazy collection of magazine articles that were out-of-date as soon as they were published, and that was over a decade ago. Reading this in 2022, each chapter is completely irrelevant. The author "investigates"…
Feb 26, 2017
An journey by Michael Lewis to explore the financial fallout of the Great Recession in various locales. First to Iceland, then to Greece, Ireland, Germany and finally to the Bay Area. He meets with bankers, politicians, academics and…
Feb 16, 2017jodfong rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
A very easy read. You'll have a blast backpacking with Michael Lewis around Europe as he looks back at the financial crisis and how it played a key role in 5 European economies. Moreover, he'll show you how each account is intertwined with…
Jul 13, 2016Ethan_Annis rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Economies are built to a large extent on faith, including a belief that countries will pay back their loans in full. What happens when a government borrows recklessly or makes promises that cannot be kept in any reasonable foreseeable…
Jul 02, 2016
Good book
Oct 14, 2014
If you don't want your illusions and delusions shattered and continue to live in la la land, instead of entering the land of reality, you read Michael Lewis. If you are interested in the truth, you read Matt Taibbi, Pam Martens, Nomi…
Oct 14, 2014no2squaredrive rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
What is it that drives our economic systems' cycles of boom and bust ? Mr. Lewis doesn't explicitly say, but analyses several countries recent troubles and shows how quirks and habits of individuals build-up to mass delusions and a…
redban
Oct 03, 2014redban rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
Please, please, read Matt Taibbi's book Griftopia, then come back and evaluate Michael Lewis' narrative. This book was indeed a fun read, but the more I reflect on it the more disgusted I get. This is Michael Lewis at his worst, as…
Jan 17, 2013Khrushchev rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
A fun romp through the economics of countries newly introduced to the woes of a downturn. Lewis explains the reasons behind each one's individual reasons for collapse quite well (though you would probably need at least some prior…
Sep 02, 2012
This book is better than I expected. I finished it from cover to cover in two days.
Sep 01, 2012scathing_haiku rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
At least Vallejo / can boast to builders that they / need not search for elves
Aug 19, 2012
Great book with easy to understand analysis of the current global financial meltdown that's often described in a humorous fashion. If you enjoyed his other books you'll definitely like this one.
Aug 02, 2012binational rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The best explanation - by far - that I have read about the Greek economic debacle. Corruption is embedded so deep in Greek culture that one can easily understand the reluctance by Germans and other northern Europeans to bail out people who…
Jun 26, 2012PrairieStar rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Well written and humorous but the subject matter makes you want to cry while laughing. One chapter was about California budget and pension woes.
May 09, 2012 VPL Career Commons rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
One of the great things about Michael Lewis is how well he writes for the lay audience. He has a great sense of humour and irony and an eye for the absurd. These are serious matters and if his light touch helps to get more people thinking…
May 04, 2012TtamioO rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Michael Lewis tells us humorously why Europe is in the serious financial trouble it's in, and then not so humorously why the U.S. is next. It's most likely he will not be taking a another vacation anytime soon to the countries whose…
Mar 24, 2012hjaeger rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
One of the best explanations of the present worldwide finacial crisis. Very readable!!!
Mar 08, 2012AnneDromeda rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A while back, I reviewed a Michael Lewis book called *The Big Short*, all about the personalities and events that built the Great Recession. In the time it took to write and release that book, Lewis stumbled across a few shrewd financiers…
Feb 08, 2012jimg2000 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Entertaining and easy to read as Lewis's other semi-fictions. As noted, a collection of articles he wrote for Vanity Fair; you can read/download for free…
Jan 29, 2012
I agree with SirWhiskers. I consider this book over-rated. There are some anecdotes in the book that are interesting but oveall, it reads more like an "accident report from a rubber-necker". IMHO, the author mixed in too much of his…
jlazcan
Jan 14, 2012jlazcan rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Lewis is an informative and entertaining writer. The book explains the current sovereign debt situation and how it came to be that the world is in drowning in debt. I found his writing to be very funny. Lewis travels to Iceland, Ireland,…
Jan 11, 2012SirWhiskers rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
1. This book is simply a reprint of five articles the author wrote for Vanity Fair between 2009 and 2011. If you've read those aritcles, there's nothing new here. 2. The author writes in a light, readable, engaging style, so the book…
Dec 08, 2011tallpinetree rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
another deft, understandable Michael Lewis book
Dec 07, 2011JoeClay rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I agree with other reviews that Mr. Lewis has done an excellent job of distilling the current economic crisis down to it's essence so us minions can understand what is going on and what we can look forward to unless we start demanding more…