Why Wall Street Matters, William D. Cohan
Why Wall Street Matters, William D. Cohan
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Why Wall Street Matters

Author: William D. Cohan

Narrator: Rob Shapiro

Unabridged: 4 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/28/2017


Synopsis

A timely, counterintuitive defense of Wall Street and the big banks as the invisible—albeit flawed—engines that power our ideas, and should be made to work better for all of us

Maybe you think the banks should be broken up and the bankers should be held accountable for the financial crisis in 2008. Maybe you hate the greed of Wall Street but know that it’s important to the proper functioning of the world economy. Maybe you don’t really understand Wall Street, and phrases such as “credit default swap” make your eyes glaze over. Maybe you are utterly confused by the fact that after attacking Wall Street mercilessly during his campaign, Donald Trump has surrounded himself with Wall Street veterans. But if you like your smart phone or your widescreen TV, your car or your morning bacon, your pension or your 401(k), then—whether you know it or not—you are a fan of Wall Street.

William D. Cohan is no knee-jerk advocate for Wall Street and the big banks. He’s one of America’s most respected financial journalists and the progressive bestselling author of House of Cards. He has long been critical of the bad behavior that plagued much of Wall Street in the years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, and because he spent seventeen years as an investment banker on Wall Street, he is an expert on its inner workings as well.

But in recent years he’s become alarmed by the cheap shots and ceaseless vitriol directed at Wall Street’s bankers, traders, and executives—the people whose job it is to provide capital to those who need it, the grease that keeps our economy humming. In this brisk, no-nonsense narrative, Cohan reminds us of the good these institutions do—and the dire consequences for us all if the essential role they play in making our lives better is carelessly curtailed.

Praise for William D. Cohan

“Cohan writes with an insider’s knowledge of the workings of Wall Street, a reporter’s investigative instincts and a natural storyteller’s narrative command.”—The New York Times

“[Cohan is] one of our most able financial journalists.”—Los Angeles Times

“A former Wall Street man and a talented writer, [Cohan] has the rare gift not only of understanding the fiendishly complicated goings-on, but also of being able to explain them in terms the lay reader can grasp.”—The Observer (London)

About The Author

William D. Cohan is the New York Times bestselling author of The Price of Silence, Money and Power, House of Cards, and The Last Tycoons, which won the 2007 FT/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award. He is a special correspondent at Vanity Fair and writes a biweekly opinion column in The New York Times. He has also written for the Financial Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Fortune, The Atlantic, The Nation, and The Washington Post, among other publications. Cohan is a graduate of Duke University, the Columbia University School of Journalism, and the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.


Reviews

Goodreads review by D.L.

There's a lot of pro-capitalist ranting in this book. There's even some name-calling. It's hardly a scholarly or objective work. It is, however, a succinct but superficial overview of banking and Wall Street. It reminds us (repeatedly) of the legitimate purpose of banks—saving and lending money. I d......more

Goodreads review by Samarth

I like to fancy myself someone who reads across the political spectrum. So a book called "Why Wall Street Matters" drew my interest when I saw it featured on a list of short books that pack big ideas. Although the review was tepid (or worse), I wanted to read an argument defending the much pilloried......more

Goodreads review by Gregg

The first thing that struck me about this book was the title: “Why Wall Street Matters.” Who doesn’t agree with that? The Occupy Movement, however much author William D Cohan probably disagrees with their rhetoric, wouldn’t for an instant say Wall Street doesn’t matter. Neither would Elizabeth Warre......more

Goodreads review by Eric

I think this is an important book for American liberals to read. As someone with left-leaning politics who was attracted to the economic policies of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, I found this book informative and challenging. Cohan argues that the primary function of the global financial syste......more


Quotes

Praise for William D. Cohan

“Cohan writes with an insider’s knowledge of the workings of Wall Street, a reporter’s investigative instincts and a natural storyteller’s narrative command.”—The New York Times

“[Cohan is] one of our most able financial journalists.”—Los Angeles Times

“A former Wall Street man and a talented writer, [Cohan] has the rare gift not only of understanding the fiendishly complicated goings-on, but also of being able to explain them in terms the lay reader can grasp.”The Observer (London)