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Rating: 
Summary: What was this guy thinking?
Review: "I got a job on Wall Street. They were mean to me, and very greedy. Before I could quit, they fired me." O.K. there was more to it than that but you get the picture. I found his portrayal of adjusting to life in NYC more interesting than reading about his work life at Merrill Lynch. I'm still surprised at how someone with absolutely zero background in anything even remotely connected to business, finance or Latin America could actually land a real job at the emerging markets bond trading desk of ML. Don't you have to know anything?... But I did find the book entertaining and I even learned a little bit about fixed income securites. I would recommend it to any "outsider" considering moving to NYC or working in the I-banking world.
Rating: 
Summary: Sad story or just Sour Grapes?
Review: A reviewer below tells us most people who review the book "don't get it" and is impressed because Stiles walked away from it all after pangs of conscience. I'm afraid he "doesn't get it." We Americans well know the conflicts inherent in extreme capitalism. The question is why he ever wanted to go to Wall Street to make piles of money in the first place. Take note, Paul: that is what they DO on the street. Imagine a vegetarian hustling to get a job in a slaughter house and you'll see what I mean. This whiny account of a year where he was a fish out of water provided little if any insight into the philosophical discourses he bores us with at the end (and the dialogue is so stilted I find it hard to believe it happened anyway). Rather, it's a series of chapters where he fights like mad (heroically sometimes), gets trampled on, and then goes off to lick his wounds. Rather than turning away from the inherent philosophical dilemmas, I'd welcome a discussion of them. But we don't get that. He got a job in a field he had no training for nor experience in. He failed. Thousands of people do this every year--why was this worthy of a book? Except maybe Stiles is the best capitalist of all--he sold us a very ordinary story, well-packaged, and made money in the end while looking like he was "one of us." Isn't that what capitalism is all about?
Rating: 
Summary: Great read for reader interested in financial world
Review: Although the author's knowledge of Finance is fairly limited, the book's focus on the political environment inside a Wall Street firm provides valuable insight to the person interested into entering this field. Many people pursue a career in Wall St. simply to make money; and this was the intent of the author. Furthermore, the author's background is quite similar to those who are entering the field some years after having finished college. Moving from the slow paced lifestyle to the hectic routine of a Wall st. analyst, the author is able to convey the difficult transition into Sales and Trading. My only wish is that the author focused less on New York lifestyle and more on how a Wall St. firm works. It would have been nice to delve into the investment banking side and equity side. The author is limited by his lack of experience on the street and most of the writing is based on only a short-term experience. For those interested in pursuing a career in Bonds this might be a good read. Also, it is fairly long considering the author doesn't detail too much information. So you've got to look for the subtle things to make some kind of perception. This is definitely not a read for anyone experienced in Finance. Solely for those interested in getting into the field.
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Summary: Painfully familiar and thought provoking (yet entertaining)
Review: I found Riding the Bull a very valuable read. Certainly, it is well written and captures the events and emotions of the author's year on Wall Street genuinely and naturally. I happen to be a bond trader, and while reading the book on a recent weekend getaway from the "megalopolis," I could definitely identify with Mr. Stiles. Over the last year, my job satisfaction has steadily declined, even as my pay has risen. Every day, I dread dragging myself to the office for another battle against "the market." After reading this book, I was suddenly aware of the changes that had taken place in me, in the same way that they happened to author. I had just never noticed before. I still haven't decided what to do exactly. Like the author, I have conversations with myself, where I come up with excuses not to quit, trying to rationalize my choice of money over happiness. This is not a pleasant thing to discover about myself. I'm certainly not asking for compassion, because I made these choices. And I hope this doesn't sound like more yuppie whining. All I am saying is that for me, Riding the Bull rang true, too true. And it is making me see things in a different light. Isn't that what a great book should do?
Rating:
Summary: Insulting to all New Yorkers
Review: I was really disappointed with this book at the end. I think Mr. Stiles is a good writer and enjoyed reading most of the book. However, there is a passage toward the end that turned me off so much I almost quit reading the book. Mr. Stiles and his wife are "discussing" their situation, for which they are entirely to blame, and they decide to blame it on society and the media. As if they and all of us are mere unthinking pawns sculpted by the values of others. I actually had a grudging respect for the author up to this point in the book. Life is choice. Everyday we make choices. The author made a choice. I respected him for making the choice to try Wall Street and for toughing it out against the odds. However, to suggest, after sharing with readers his choices and struggles, that his choices were made for him by "society," completely insults the reader and diminishes his credibility. I would recommend this book to no one -- it is as if a different person wrote the end. Mostly it saddened me because I saw a basically good, reasonable person fail to evaluate his situation correctly. I hope the maturity and judgement that so often develop in our later years give him the fortitude to correct the course upon which he has embarked. I think he has great potential as a writer -- that potential could be reached with a major adjustment in his outlook.
Rating:
Summary: Merrill Lynch Slice of Life
Review: I wrote RIDING THE BULL to provide a first-hand account of the corrosive effect of extreme capitalism on human society. The book is a true story of a year I spent working at Merrill Lynch in New York City. It has now been seven years since I was hired by Merrill Lynch, and five since the book was published. In that time Merrill Lynch has paid half a billion dollars in fines both for its role in the Orange County bankruptcy and in the fraudulent promotion of dot-com stocks; the phony technology bubble has burst, just as the phony emerging markets bubble burst; and an unprecedented series of corporate scandals has rocked the American economy, causing a historic decline in the stock market that has erased an estimated $45 billion from the GDP. The magnitude of the problem has even led that champion of the Big Apple, the New York Times, to finally see the light: "If you have to choose the primary breeding ground for the various business misdeeds now consuming national attention, New York, I'm afraid, is the place...if infectious greed is the virus, New York is the center of the outbreak." (City of Schemes, NYT Magazine, 10/6/02).
One is tempted at this point to issue a strong I-told-you-so. I won't.
Rating: 
Summary: No Liar's Poker
Review: Paul Stiles' whining gets on your nerves after a while. If "standard" Merrill training genuinely is no training...yet Merrill possesses one of the best trading arms in the world...the vast majority of the recruits must've been smart enough to pick things up as they went along, which seems to indicate a shortcoming in Stiles rather than the system. It's unfortunate but understandable that Stiles lacked the ability or intestinal fortitiude to excell in what is an extremely difficult (both mentally and emotionally) position. However, it is even more unfortunate that he blames society and those around him for his own greed-driven decisions, making this book a exemplary whine-fest. The only redeeming feature: some relatively interesting asides about the technical aspects of a trading desk. Read Liar's Poker (Lewis, non-fiction) or The Bombardiers (Bronson, fiction) for much better and more entertaining Wall Street bedtime stories.
Rating:
Summary: Decent - but there are better books out there
Review: Stiles made it a year in the derivatives business. What I found surprising was that he made into Merrill Lynch at all. Here was a guy who hasn't even taken his series 7 and he's wondering why he's completely lost. The lack of communication apparent in Merrill Lynch is unfortunate, but no different than other large finance companies (I can attest to that.) I found it hard to understand why the bureaucracy drove Stiles nuts considering his previous job was with the government. Rather than explain it as it was, I couldn't help but think Stiles was looking for someone to point the finger at. It seemed to me the truth behind the corporate culture lies more along the lines of "we don't care what you do as long as it makes money." The "Latin Mafia" and the rest knew this and were playing the game using the cards they were dealt. What I did enjoy were his escapades (or lack thereof) outside of work. Sorry New-Yorkers, even though I was born there, I cannot understand why anyone would choose to live there and this book reinforces the opinion. Stiles did a great job of conveying life in the Big Apple, from the sense of tension just getting to and from work, the rationalizations that come out when crime hits close to home, to a valid summary of why a dual income family making over $100K a year still has nothing to show for it. (Any Brooklynite reading this is probably thinking, "if you don't like it... leave" which is exactly the point.) Whereas "Liar's Poker" is probably overly congratulatory, "Riding the Bull" is overly accusatory. I'm not sure if the author needed to sell his soul to continue working at Mother Merrill, but he should've realized he might have to make that decision before he took the job.
Rating:
Summary: Merrill Lynch Slice of Life
Review: This book is a true to life description of the Merrill Lynch culture. Stiles has absolutely "nailed" the Merrill work experience right down to the day to day relationships between co-workers. For those considering employment in the world's largest brokerage firm - give it a read. You will not regret it. It is an eye-opener.
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