The Devil's Casino

PRAISE FOR THE DEVIL'S CASINO "Readers of this remarkable tale do not stand outside looking in?we are inside looking out . . . the stuff that makes novels come alive." ?KEN AULETTA "Ward carefully and skillfully tracks the last 25 or so years of [this] great, doomed enterprise, and her portrait of a business entity is often engaging, spicy, and amusing. The book also does a fine job of sketching several outlandishly banal individuals who rose to prominence in the firm and ultimately were responsible, each in a different way, for its demise." ?The Washington Post "What's remarkable about this narrative is that Ward . . . humanize[s] many of the central figures involved in the rise and fall of one of Wall Street's largest firms, offering profound insight into the titans of finance whose recklessness, greed, and competitiveness brought the U.S. economy to the brink of collapse. The story plays out like a Shakespearean tragedy in which the very principles upon which the firm was built prove to be its undoing. The Devil's Casino offers a fascinating glimpse into the culture of one of the most powerful firms on Wall Street. One hopes that the history it chronicles will also serve as a cautionary tale for the financial industry's still-uncertain future." ?The Boston Globe "A terrific tale of the weird and not-so-wonderful world of Lehman Brothers: the personalities, the bonuses, and, best of all, the backstabbing politics of the Louboutin-shod bankers' WAGs. The now-vilified former CEO, Richard Fuld, is portrayed not just as the aggressive 'Gorilla' of Wall Street lore but as a human sponge who absorbed the attributes of smarter colleagues to the point of stealing their entire personalities." ?The Guardian "Well researched, chatty, lively . . . As she charts the rivalries of life on Wall Street, Ward entertains with rich detail. The book skillfully depicts the lives lived in the background of great clashing events. And it also hints at what Wall Street has become since the crisis, at the apparent dominance of two survivors, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase." ?The New York Times "Vicky Ward serves up a book about an investment bank that is a spicy, dishy dish. . . . Ward builds a convincing case that duplicity and betrayal in the mid-'90s eventually led to the demise of Lehman Brothers." ?Bloomberg BusinessWeek "The Devil's Casino has everything readers might want to know about the personal foibles and shopping habits of key Lehman leaders and their wives...a fascinating read." ?Financial Times