Rating: 
Summary: Just Awesome
Review: This is one of the best books on financial markets I have read. Predators Ball was also good, but this book is amazing. It ranks with the likes of Reminiscences Of a Stock Operator, Liars Poker, Pitbull and Market Wizards. Boesky is crazy, but a likeable character, and Milken is a god damn legend. Ordinarily I would never give a book a 5 star rating, but after reading, how could you not.
Rating:
Summary: Aspiring journalists must read this book
Review: Stewart has done an exhaustive study of the Milken, Boesky, Siegel & Levine insider trading scandals. At age 11 (old for a book about economics) it still holds up very, very well.He tells the story of the US Market Crash of 1987 from May, 1986 through November, 1990. His sources are mostly court records and first-person interviews. There are not enough journalists who can cull the (extensive, and public) record and write clearly about the transgressions that resulted in the evaporation of 1/3 of the entire US Stock Market's value in ONE DAY. This litigator wishes that there were 10,000 Stewarts combing the court records alone. The "public record" is so rarely used as a source and it is a great waste that more journalists don't take a few hours to look at the current cases pending before their local federal and state courts. Best sellers are made of this stuff!
Rating:
Summary: The Best on the Topic
Review: I don't think I can add much to the descriptions of the book that have already been documented here. What I would like to say is that this was an outstanding book that is the leader of the class on this topic. You get a wonderfully documented and rich description of the group of high finance leaders during the 80's Junk Bond and M&A scandals. The author also provides a very readable explanation of the tools used in both the legitimate and illegal side of this issue. This is just a detailed and exciting book; the extra pages and detail do not slow it down at all. If you are interested in this topic then I would suggest you also read "Predator's Ball". To get a better understanding of KKR, I would suggest "Masters of Debit". If you read only one book on this topic then this is the book to read.
Rating: 
Summary: well written
Review: Well written with great research. Gives the reader good insight on world of insider trading during the Drexel Era. I think it's essential for anyone getting in the Sales&trading industry, to have a idea of what went on in the eighties.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating look at a complex and amazing scandal.
Review: The 1980's were known as the "Greed Decade" but, for many, the true excesses of that greed were never fully known or are now only a distant memory. James Stewart's book, "Den of Thieves" provides a comprehensive, fascinating and readable look at the insider trading scandals of the 1980's which brought words like
arbitrageur and LBO into the mainstream and people like Boesky and Milken household names. Stewart begins by looking at the rise of some of Wall Street's highest fliers and, in many cases, providing exhaustive details of how the prevailing mantra of "greed is good" led them to orchestrate their own downfall. The audacity of many of these people is almost breathtaking, as is the wealth they accumulated. Stewart moves on to detail the process by which the government, in the form of the SEC and then-US Attorney Rudy Giuliani, brought this house of cards tumbling down. The various players in the game are portrayed with varying degrees of sympathy. However, the government authorities are not necessarily portrayed in the most flattering light and Stewart raises a number of questions about the overall handling of the investigations. One word of caution - readers should not get too bogged down in the details of the story. The insider trading scandal involved
hundreds of players and transactions and schemes that were unbelievably complex. It is almost impossible to assimilate the entire story without getting somewhat confused. Nevertheless, the book is at its most effective when you take a step back and look at the grand scheme of the insider trades, the methods by which the perpetrators were brought to justice and the punishment they suffered from their crimes. In many ways, the book was published before the story reached a final conclusion and it would be worthwhile for a revised edition to be published, updating the status of the actors involved and the fallout of the revelations which the investigations brought. Overall, this is a fascinating and well written book which raises fundamental questions about the way business was, and is, conducted and the way in which the justice system operates. I would highly recommend it as the definitive account of the insider trading scandals of the 1980s.
Rating:
Summary: Only 22 months?
Review: Michael Milken served only 22 months of a 10-year sentence? Unbelievable! His time served surely doesn't send a message to those who consider the potential consequences of their criminal activities. The book was hard to put down - the author's research was in-depth and fascinating. The book can really get your blood boiling, such as when Milken introduces his "good friend, Jesse Jackson" - an obvious P.R. strategy intended to influence a potential jury of minorities. In fact, Milken's entire P.R. directed campaign makes you sick. Milken is indeed a talented financier, and there was no need for him to act criminally. How many millions, excuse me, BILLIONS, is enough? The author's work is a necessary read for those interested in business history and for those working in the financial services industry. Many feel that history will judge Milken in a favorable light - but I hope that our society never views tax evasion and fraud in a positive light. The book gave me a new appreciation for those serving the public, as the author tells us about the hard work of officials at the SEC and at the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York. Business can be conducted with trust and integrity, and when combined with good old-fashioned hard work, becomes a success story.
Rating:
Summary: FABULOUS !
Review: James Stewarts narrative is dead on the facts and emotions of the Drexcel Burnham / Ivan Boesky / Dennis Levine cabal that drove and manipulated 80's Wall Street, compared to Predators Ball, this book distinguishes itself as it brings ALL the events together, the relationships described in the text will give the reader a perspective that is three dimensional. Stewart grabs the reader and never lets go, hard to put down and will keep you up late by the reading lamp. I read it again and found it just as interesting as the first read.
Rating:
Summary: An Outstanding Book!
Review: This was an outstanding book about some dishonest financiers. You get a good closeup look at some of the most dominant figures in the world of high finance during their time.Michael Milken, Dennis Levine,Ivan Boesky,and Dennis Levine about brought to the front and center due to the efforts of this book. The tactics(such as stock Parking)are explained in this book. The number one financial tool of this era,junk bonds also recieve adequate attention and explanation in this writing. The king of the junk bond Michael Milken is well highlighted in the book as well.Also portrayed in the book was the prosecution efforts of Rudolph Guliani. The greedy nature of these people and of this time is adequately highlighted due to this book. This is an excellent read on this subject. in the book was the prosecution efforts of one Rudolph Guliani
Rating:
Summary: A Superbly good read
Review: James Stewart resounts the intricately tangled web of insider trading on Wall Street in the 1980s with vivid detail. Infamous personalities include M. Milken, M. Siegel, I. Bowsky, and D. Levine. Each character of the vast cast is introduced and interweaved with the rest of the plot seamlessly, making the pages turn by themselves once started. The game begins with a young investment banker at CSFB. Levine's inexorable desire to achieve extraordinary wealth soon drove him beyond the legal limits of ibanking, rounding up insiders at various other banks, law firm, and even one graduating HBS student. Through the ring of informants, the insiders exploited their access to proprietory information to great length, engaging in numerous insider trading transactions, which eventually yielded in the millions across a span of just a few years. Yet, compared to the big boys, Levine's ring can only be considered toying. Legendary financier Boskey, junk bond king Milken and others take insider trading to a whole new level, arranging numerous "parking" transactions, inflated invoiced, tax evation schemes, feeding each others accounts while manipulating the stock prices of various publicly traded companies. The story takes the readers through a who is who on Wall Street and even travels off south to Bermuda and Cayman Islands for a couple of times. Through an occasional suspicious transaction at two of Merill's brokers, New York DA Giuliani and his team were able to slowly sort through a vast web of insider trading activity, and implicate more and more Wall Street types as the investigation went on. After all the twists and turns, the bankers are sent to jail one by one, and finally, Milken was indicted, putting an end to the jonk bond king and the corporate raid bonanza. Put aside a couple of afternoons and treat yourself to this piece of great storytelling.
Rating:
Summary: Ethics
Review: The book is great for the review of ethics within the Investment Banking business. As I work at a private equity firm, the in's and out's of the game, are described very nice. Especially the amount of confidential information passing through me is worth thinking about. The book give a nice picture of what can happen in a world full of greed. Den of Thieves is nice to read and sometime a good laugh about some disturbed bankers.
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