The Quants

How a New Breed of Math Whizzes Conquered Wall Street and Nearly Destroyed It

Business & Finance, Economics, Economic History, Finance & Investing, Finance, Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book The Quants by Scott Patterson, The Crown Publishing Group
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Scott Patterson ISBN: 9780307453396
Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group Publication: February 2, 2010
Imprint: Crown Business Language: English
Author: Scott Patterson
ISBN: 9780307453396
Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group
Publication: February 2, 2010
Imprint: Crown Business
Language: English

With the immediacy of today’s NASDAQ close and the timeless power of a Greek tragedy, The Quants is at once a masterpiece of explanatory journalism, a gripping tale of ambition and hubris, and an ominous warning about Wall Street’s future.

In March of 2006, four of the world’s richest men sipped champagne in an opulent New York hotel. They were preparing to compete in a poker tournament with million-dollar stakes, but those numbers meant nothing to them. They were accustomed to risking billions.

On that night, these four men and their cohorts were the new kings of Wall Street. Muller, Griffin, Asness, and Weinstein were among the best and brightest of a new breed, the quants. Over the prior twenty years, this species of math whiz--technocrats who make billions not with gut calls or fundamental analysis but with formulas and high-speed computers--had usurped the testosterone-fueled, kill-or-be-killed risk-takers who’d long been the alpha males the world’s largest casino. The quants helped create a digitized money-trading machine that could shift billions around the globe with the click of a mouse. Few realized, though, that in creating this unprecedented machine, men like Muller, Griffin, Asness and Weinstein had sowed the seeds for history’s greatest financial disaster.

Drawing on unprecedented access to these four number-crunching titans, The Quants tells the inside story of what they thought and felt in the days and weeks when they helplessly watched much of their net worth vaporize--and wondered just how their mind-bending formulas and genius-level IQ’s had led them so wrong, so fast.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

With the immediacy of today’s NASDAQ close and the timeless power of a Greek tragedy, The Quants is at once a masterpiece of explanatory journalism, a gripping tale of ambition and hubris, and an ominous warning about Wall Street’s future.

In March of 2006, four of the world’s richest men sipped champagne in an opulent New York hotel. They were preparing to compete in a poker tournament with million-dollar stakes, but those numbers meant nothing to them. They were accustomed to risking billions.

On that night, these four men and their cohorts were the new kings of Wall Street. Muller, Griffin, Asness, and Weinstein were among the best and brightest of a new breed, the quants. Over the prior twenty years, this species of math whiz--technocrats who make billions not with gut calls or fundamental analysis but with formulas and high-speed computers--had usurped the testosterone-fueled, kill-or-be-killed risk-takers who’d long been the alpha males the world’s largest casino. The quants helped create a digitized money-trading machine that could shift billions around the globe with the click of a mouse. Few realized, though, that in creating this unprecedented machine, men like Muller, Griffin, Asness and Weinstein had sowed the seeds for history’s greatest financial disaster.

Drawing on unprecedented access to these four number-crunching titans, The Quants tells the inside story of what they thought and felt in the days and weeks when they helplessly watched much of their net worth vaporize--and wondered just how their mind-bending formulas and genius-level IQ’s had led them so wrong, so fast.

More books from The Crown Publishing Group

Cover of the book Sold into Egypt by Scott Patterson
Cover of the book Reach for the Summit by Scott Patterson
Cover of the book Hope Unfolding by Scott Patterson
Cover of the book God Code by Scott Patterson
Cover of the book Reluctant Runaway by Scott Patterson
Cover of the book Before Happiness by Scott Patterson
Cover of the book Wisdom Hunter by Scott Patterson
Cover of the book Women Who Achieved for God by Scott Patterson
Cover of the book Death of a Garage Sale Newbie by Scott Patterson
Cover of the book A Global Lesson by Scott Patterson
Cover of the book Transfiguration by Scott Patterson
Cover of the book The Fiefdom Syndrome by Scott Patterson
Cover of the book 99 Bible Promises for Tough Times by Scott Patterson
Cover of the book Making "I Do" Last a Lifetime by Scott Patterson
Cover of the book Better and Faster by Scott Patterson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy