Too Big to Fail

The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System--and Themselves

By: Andrew Ross Sorkin

Narrated by: William Hughes

The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System - and Themselves

A real-life thriller about the most tumultuous period in America's financial history by an acclaimed New York Times reporter. Andrew Ross Sorkin delivers the first true, behind-the-scenes, moment-by-moment account of how the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression developed into a global tsunami.

From inside the corner office at Lehman Brothers to secret meetings in South Korea and the corridors of Washington, Too Big to Fail is the definitive story of the most powerful men and women in finance and politics grappling with success and failure, ego and greed, and, ultimately, the fate of the world's economy.

"We've got to get some foam down on the runway!" a sleepless Timothy Geithner, the then-president of the Federal Reserve of New York, would tell Henry M. Paulson, the Treasury secretary, about the catastrophic crash the world's financial system would experience. Through unprecedented access to the players involved, Too Big to Fail re-creates all the drama and turmoil, revealing neverdisclosed details and elucidating how decisions made on Wall Street over the past decade sowed the seeds of the debacle.

This true story is not just a look at banks that were "too big to fail"; it is a real-life thriller with a cast of bold-faced names who themselves thought they were too big to fail.

©2009 Andrew Ross Sorkin (P)2009 Penguin Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Andrew Ross Sorkin pens what may be the definitive history of the banking crisis." ( The Atlantic Monthly)
"Andrew Ross Sorkin has written a fascinating, scene-by-scene saga of the eyeless trying to march the clueless through Great Depression II." (Tom Wolfe)

Surprisingly Revealing

Initially, I didn't even consider listening to this book since I'm well aware of current events, and I thought it would be repetitive. After all, didn't we get enough of the daily harping on the factors contributing to our economic crisis? But The Economist listed it as one of the best books of the year, so I thought I would give it a try. In fact, Too Big to Fail is not a dull chronology of the events leading up to Lehman's failure and the creation of TARP; rather, it exposes the sentiments, conversations, decisions, and intentions of every major player and government figure involved with Wall Street's financial rescue. It reads like a suspense novel and is full of gossipy, fascinating tidbits which one would never hear on the news.

Sorkin's awareness of private conversations and correspondence between government regulators and the investment banking firms' staff is absolutely incredible. Since there haven't been any lawsuits accusing Sorkin of slander, I can only assume that they are truthful portrayals. He must have convinced friends, spouses, government staffers and high-level figures alike to recount everything they had witnessed, heard, or said. I don't know how he managed to do all of that and publish the book in such a short amount of time, but it's pretty impressive.

David V

Excellent book however I now have new questions and will have to continue to read more about this collapse

good for the serious listener

Having listened to the book whilst driving etc. i found it hard to keep up with. This is a massive work packed with details and seems too much for causal attention. I tend to agree with the reviewer who advised that print is better. If you want to devote your time to listening to this book you will find it a monumental work packed with insights.

Outstanding Coverage of Critical Events!

Sorkin has done a phenomenal job compiling the events of the toughest financial times in recent history. Also, outstanding narration.

One Perspective.

This account is but one of the many different perspective on the 2008 financial crises. A fascinating listen on the personalities and egos involved in the entire mess. You have to stop and wonder at times how the author was able to get the intricate details of key conversations and meetings that makes the story so much more interesting. However sometimes the details are overwhelming and a distraction and you tend to lose track of the main theme. True I may have a short attention span but I found myself struggling to remember the many characters involved at times.
In my opinion, this book should be heard/read after having finished "All the Devils Are Here" (McLean and Nocera). That way you've just gotten the big picture view and history of The Crises and now you're ready for the detailed character descriptions.
Overall an interesting read!

A great narrative history of the crisis

Ross Sorkin did a very good job of humanizing the financial crisis. He was pretty even handed in his narrative. However I don't think he gave enough credit to Bernanke Geithner and Paulson. I believe their actions during the crisis were nothing short of heroic. William Hughes does a masterful job of narration. Personally I wish they had saved Lehman Brothers. They certainly wanted to but with the political circumstances at that moment in time it was impossible. This book is taylor made for audible. That format fits nicely with the narrative. All things considered, a great audible book.

Well written, performed and fascinating

This makes our recent financial history something between a spy novel and paulson biography. If you are interesting in contemporary issues and how our world is currently being formed READ THIS.

Great great read

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would highly recommend this book. For layman who is interested in understanding the meltdown of the markets 2 years ago this book is a must.

What did you like best about this story?

Sorkin creates very vivid portraits of all the important players. Its an easy read and doesn't require you to have a depth of wall street knowledge to understand what happened.

What about William Hughes’s performance did you like?

Everything. He brings just the right tone- not overly dramatic, not campy.

If you could give Too Big to Fail a new subtitle, what would it be?

Why Lehman was Allowed to Fail

This is the one

This is the one to get. Mr. Sorkin does an amazing job of putting all the facts together in a way that's fair, that makes sense, and that acknowledges the complexity of the subject matter. It's a little dry, but I personally found it captivating.

The Big Short is another good place to start for understanding the financial crisis.

Excellent description of a time

This book is an excellent portrayal of events leading up to and during the tarp rollout in 2008. It doesn’t cover much before or after that period at all. Its thorough, well researched and definitely worth a read. The book doesn’t argue whether the outcome of 2008 was good or bad. Simply present the evidence for the reader to listen to and decide.