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The Predator's Ball: The Inside Story of Drexel Burnham and the Rise of the Junk Bond Raiders

By: Connie Bruck
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 0140120904
ISBN-13: 9780140120905
Released: 31 Dec 1989
RRP: £15.00
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

The story of junk bonds in the 1980s - By: Rolf Dobelli, 22 Feb 2008
Today the phrase "securities fraud" evokes Enron, WorldCom & Tyco. Two decades ago, it evoked Drexel Burnham Lambert, the investment bank that ruled the junk-bond realm & helped fund some of the most audacious corporate takeovers of the 1980s. Enthroned at the center of Drexel Burnham was the king of junk, Michael Milken. Was he a financial genius who found ever more clever ways to make markets more efficient? Or was he a swindler running the world's biggest Ponzi scheme? New Yorker writer Connie Bruck sets out to answer those questions in this cautionary tale of Drexel's rise & falll. getAbstract recommends this fascinating, highly detailed financial history. However, the flaw in Bruck's narrative is the absence of a third act: She inexplicably ends the book before Milken's trial & sentencing. While its ending is weak, this provocative story makes one thing clear: Uneasy lies the head that wears a leveraged crown.
Enjoyable book about one of the greatest scandals in Wall Street - By: J. P. Meijide, 28 Nov 2007
Absolute must read for people interested in business & financial markets
The research is very serious & the approach is very professional
Unfortunately, the research ends before Mr Milken was convicted. It would be nice to have a look of what happened with Drexel after Milken went down
Nice topic, weak author - By: Davor Blazencic, 04 Nov 2006
The book gives good overview of Milken, leveraged finance & important players of the decade.
However, a bit too long for my taste, with too many unnecessary details, repeating in some parts as well. Ms Connie Bruck wanted to show alll the angles, but went into excess.
The book is a recommended read for those who want to deepen they knowledge about Milken & takeovers of the 80's.
Good and important reading but indiscerned writer - By: , 24 May 1999
Predators balll by Connie Bruck is a recommended reading for the already discerned person, who has some knowledge of the real Milken story.

Bruck makes it clear how much her contempt for Milken & "his" Drexel company is, & yet she does not fail to point out the great achievement he made viable : giving capital to companies that had been previously disclosed from any kind of lending ability.

Her contempt for Milken & his working style is so deep, that she blames him of faults that have never been the cause of accusations against him, neither publicly nor through the DA or State attorneys. This is in particular sad, since up to a certain point she discovers the good sides of the Drexel revolution, but for example the fact that Drexel admiettedly rendered calllgirls to its top customers at the socallled predators ballls in LA makes in her mind every punishment acceptable & worth the effort.

Although the afterword was written long after the indictment & abjudication of Milken, the author does not invoke the causes of Milkens sentence, which were merely political & not based on a real assumption of the commitment of a crime. It should have come to the mind of any author, that a sentence that starts with the words "You have been the cause of the greedy century" is not a acceptable reasoning in legal terms, rather a description of contempt spurred by the sudden revelation of an extraordi- narily high salary. So we have to blame the author not only there but also in other areas of poor journalism; a book, on a living person in particular, should be based on facts rather than gossip of clients trying to get their heads out of the scaffold & prosecutors trying to wrench out a candidature for president of the prosecution of a single man.

Mrs Brook has undoubtedly written the first book on Milken, however it should be the first to get out of print unless she rewrites the important conclusion on the persons described.

Dr. Rudolf C. King CEO, princeandprince.com Ltd Owner of HouseOfCommerce Indonesia HouseOfCommerce@ibm.net Munich Germany

Very good but a bit difficult to follow - By: , 04 May 1999
I liked this book but I found it difficult to follow the order of events at some points, especiallly when the author jumped back & forth between dates. Overalll, highly recommendable.