Black and White on Wall Street: The Untold Story of the Man Wrongly Accused of Bringing Down Kidder Peabody

Rating:
Summary: A good book to understand how corporate politics work
Review: After reading this book, I can tell that Mr. Jett is dying to tell his side of the story because nobody seems to care about it. Readers will quickly notice that Mr. Jett writes this book because he wants to gain some support from people outside Wall Street.

This book also shows that Mr. Jett is too powerless to defend his reputation against a powerful company like GE which partially controls the world of journalism. Furthermore, it seems that the author is trying to raise some money to pay for his attorney's fees. Thus, in my opinion, this book is rather biased in its address.

Not only does this book talk about how the financial world works, it also addresses serious issues behind corporate walls. This book should be read to understand how corporate politics work. This book can help powerless people defend themselves from cruel corporate politics.

Overall, this book is fairly enjoyable and should be easily understood by general readers, despite the fact that the complex bond trading strategy that Mr. Jett explains in the book is very hard to understand.

Rating:
Summary: A good book to understand how corporate politics work
Review: After reading this book, I can tell that Mr. Jett is dying to tell his side of the story because nobody seems to care about it. Readers will quickly notice that Mr. Jett writes this book because he wants to gain some support from people outside Wall Street.

This book also shows that Mr. Jett is too powerless to defend his reputation against a powerful company like GE which partially controls the world of journalism. Furthermore, it seems that the author is trying to raise some money to pay for his attorney's fees. Thus, in my opinion, this book is rather biased in its address.

Not only does this book talk about how the financial world works, it also addresses serious issues behind corporate walls. This book should be read to understand how corporate politics work. This book can help powerless people defend themselves from cruel corporate politics.

Overall, this book is fairly enjoyable and should be easily understood by general readers, despite the fact that the complex bond trading strategy that Mr. Jett explains in the book is very hard to understand.

Rating:
Summary: ALUTA CONTINUA - VICTORIA ASCERTIA!!!
Review: Black and White on Wall Street is a persuasive account of a scandalous event. I recommend it to anyone who wishes to enjoy a very interesting story. It is of particular utility for any person seeking to understand the "Street" from the vantage-point of a non-majority. Although it appears that Jett has been completely forthcoming, appearances can be deceiving. Only Jett and a few others really know the whole story. What Jett does tell in his book is riveting and educational. He is a very interesting man who has already lived a very interesting life. Kudos!

Rating:
Summary: SWAMPLAND IN FLORIDA
Review: I'm an I-banker and former CPA. I read this book and still can't tell who's right. More than likely as with most arguments, the truth is somewhere in the middle.

Jett builds a great case of his bosses setting him up but when someone works this hard at it, I become very suspicious. He does have some very creditable points that his bosses knew or should have known what his accounting practices were. Employee of the year to criminal? Where was internal audit?

Basically, this book allows you to hear one side of the story for you to draw your opinions from. I'm not sure what is correct but I enjoyed the read and see one more time the "ego filled" life of Wall Streeters.

Rating:
Summary: DISGUSTING COMMENTARY ON GE'S POWERHOLD ON THE LAW & MEDIA!!
Review: If you have any doubts about purchasing this book, first read some of the 49 reviews (thus far). Immediately, you'll notice a trend. Overwhelmingly, readers are convinced of Joseph Jett's account of the facts. On the other end of the spectrum, you'll read a few accounts of individuals who claim to have worked with Mr. Jett or have somehow come to the conclusion that Mr. Jett is lying. I put my faith in most people's ability to discern the truth by using a modicum of critical thinking. I actually laughed out loud when I read comments by those who stated, "I am the wife of an ex-Kidder employee" or "I worked at Kidder and lost my job." Their comments make no mention of the legalities of the case or ridiculous control GE had over the media and the legal system. If the "superiors" at Kidder had "no clue" (according to their inept recollection), why would a wife or ex-employee know whether or not Joseph Jett had "taken down" Kidder Peabody? Executives at Kidder said they had no idea what was going on, I doubt a lower-level employee or wife (who no doubt was biased about her husband's loss of a job) would have ingenious insight.

This book was absolutely fascinating!!! After reading this book, I gave it (or recommended it) to my brother, mother, father, sisters, husband, brother-in-laws and countless friends who all came to the same conclusion, "innocent," without any prompting by me.

BY FAR, THIS WAS THE BEST BOOK I READ ALL YEAR!!!(which says a lot--our family reads tons). The technical aspects of the book require more dedicated attention as you read, however, even if you have troubles with this section, it's clear that Joseph Jett was wrongfully accused of single-handedly taking down Kidder Peabody. The reader does not (and probably should not) come to this conclusion based on one account of a Wall Street employee, but on the countless other books and accounts with similar tones--BIG MONEY (I.E. GE C0RPORATION) PRECLUDE THE FAIR OUTCOME OF ALMOST ANY TRAIL. Why are we shocked at the outcome?

I was extremely saddened at the end of the book. It it disturbing that both the Justice Department and the National Association of Securities Dealers exonerated him of any wrong-doing, while the SEC judge (who does not have a finance understanding and was working her first case) said he was innocent of securities fraud but had the intent to fraud the company, although Jett was abiding by the firm's own bookkeeping rules. There were just too many inconcistencies in her ruling.

By the way, our family consists of Latino, White, and African Americans members, all of whom have B.A.'s, Master's, MBA's, and PhD's. All reached the same conclusion--Joseph Jett is innocent.

In the end, this book not only does an excellent job of portraying Jett's case, but it also re-awakens our consciousness about the unfair control that weathly corporations have in America which, in the end, dictate what happens in our court-rooms, what we see on television and what we read in the papers. This is why reading a variety of perspectives is so critical--don't rely on TV to give you the truth!!

Rating:
Summary: SWAMPLAND IN FLORIDA
Review: It's been a few years since I read and first reviewed this book. In that time I have come to appreciate the details quite a bit more.
Kidder Peabody was a trading operation, just like Enron. If we had taken Mr.Jett seriously, perhaps a few people would still have their 401k's at the Houston company. For those who say Jett is a liar, compare his situation to what brought down Enron. Read June's issue of L.A. magazine, there's a story of a young Enron trader who couldn't quite figure out how his company made either.
If by now you still don't believe Mr. Jett, I've got some swampland......

Rating:
Summary: Worth the read
Review: Joseph Jett and Sabra Chartrand write an amusing book with a well ordered presentation of the facts.

There are times I think Joseph had enough hubris for all Egypt. He must have been a thorn to several of the people he worked with. Given his intelligence one would think he has more insight into what happened than he has shared with the reader but the book is an excellant defense against his accusers and give a clear view of one slice of Wall Street.

I'm suggesting the book to several librarians.

Rating:
Summary: Well Documents a Tragic Character named, Joseph Jett!
Review: This book caught my eye while browsing the isles at Barnes and Noble. I recognized Joseph Jett from his appearance on Sixty Minutes, which I thought was a compelling profile segment, and so I decided to give the book a read. Interestingly, at the end of his Sixty Minutes interview, I found myself sorta rooting for this "bad" guy. However, after reading the book, I do not know what to make of this character named, Joseph Jett.

The first part of the book is compelling; it traces his family's Black heritage, discusses his upbringing, shares the parental (namely his father's) philosophies that shaped Jett's mind-set, and describes the disturbing way Jett was treated by his classmates and peers growing up.

What makes Joseph Jett a tragic figure is the skewed way he disassociated himself with anything that was related to people of color. A big mistake! Instead of making him appear weak or handicapped from a professional point of view, he would have been building a network of there-when-I-need-you folks, namely his own people: African-Americans--Black people. So, when Jett's world came tumbling down, he would have had some much needed support. Face it: Just look at some other "notable" Blacks who have at one time in their rise to fortune or fame (whatever your flavor) have distanced themselves from the circle and had to come running back.

This book well documents Jeff's questionably behaviour and judgement, and further emphasizes what happens when you "ruthlessly" and "recklessly" pursue making money.

--Kimberly Stansell, author Bootstrapper's Success Secrets: 151 Tactics for Building Your Business on a Shoestring Budget (Career Press)

Rating:
Summary: Well Documents a Tragic Character named, Joseph Jett!
Review: This book caught my eye while browsing the isles at Barnes and Noble. I recognized Joseph Jett from his appearance on Sixty Minutes, which I thought was a compelling profile segment, and so I decided to give the book a read. Interestingly, at the end of his Sixty Minutes interview, I found myself sorta rooting for this "bad" guy. However, after reading the book, I do not know what to make of this character named, Joseph Jett.

The first part of the book is compelling; it traces his family's Black heritage, discusses his upbringing, shares the parental (namely his father's) philosophies that shaped Jett's mind-set, and describes the disturbing way Jett was treated by his classmates and peers growing up.

What makes Joseph Jett a tragic figure is the skewed way he disassociated himself with anything that was related to people of color. A big mistake! Instead of making him appear weak or handicapped from a professional point of view, he would have been building a network of there-when-I-need-you folks, namely his own people: African-Americans--Black people. So, when Jett's world came tumbling down, he would have had some much needed support. Face it: Just look at some other "notable" Blacks who have at one time in their rise to fortune or fame (whatever your flavor) have distanced themselves from the circle and had to come running back.

This book well documents Jeff's questionably behaviour and judgement, and further emphasizes what happens when you "ruthlessly" and "recklessly" pursue making money.

--Kimberly Stansell, author Bootstrapper's Success Secrets: 151 Tactics for Building Your Business on a Shoestring Budget (Career Press)

Rating:
Summary: Ends up as story where you just don't care...
Review: This could have been an interesting book -- a black man who fights his way to Wall Street, makes millions, and ends up in tangled web of lies and corruption. I picked it up because the story of Joseph Jett seemed intriguing, but sadly, the book ends up being dragged down by the fact that Jett is a very unlikeable person, the way he tells the story makes it obvious that he is lying about what actually happened, and in the end the book doesn't say much more about Wall Street than we already know.

Jett was fingered as the guilty party in a bond trading scandal at the firm of Kidder Peabody and black-listed from Wall Street. This book is Jett's attempt at his side of the story in an effort to prove his innocence. The main problem for me in reading this book is that Jett comes across as a real jerk, and as a result, I really didn't empathize with his position and I really didn't care about what happened to him -- my feeling was "This greedy arrogant jerkwad got what he deserved."

Secondly, the parts of the book detailing what supposedly happened at Kidder Peabody just don't seem realistic. I've worked in the securities industry, so I have something to guage Jett's story by, and it just doesn't come across as 100% accurate. I think the real truth is somewhere in the middle of what Kidder Peabody said, and what Jett said.

The early chapters of the book, where Jett describes his upbringing and life before Wall Street, were the best ones, because you get to understand the forces that drive him and the barriers he had to overcome. The book rapidly degenerates after the early chapters and I found it quite boring. If you haven't read any books about Wall Street or the real world of finance, then you might find this interesting. If you have, you won't miss anything by skipping Jett's tale.