Newest addition to the recommended reading comes from Gillian Tett, who this month released "Fool's Gold." No, unfortunately I'm not talking about the story of Matthew Mcconaughey and more importantly Kate Hudson in bathing suits. I'm talking about the story of J.P. Morgan's original derivatives team from the early 1990's. The team the created the structured products that led to the greatest financial meltdown in human history. It has behind the scenes conversations, emails, and phone calls from floor traders all the way up to the great Jamie Dimon, Morgan's C.E.O.
This book focuses on the J.P. Morgan saga and throughout it references its counterpart on the trades, the company that took on most of the risk if the subprime mortgages actually defaulted: AIG. This month Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and Liar's Poker, wrote a fantastic article for Vanity Fair showing an inside glimpse of the AIG machine and how it fed the monster through the bubble.
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/08/aig200908
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