Rating: 
Summary: No Time for Heroes
Review: Just as F. Scott Fitzergerald wrote some pieces that captured the spirit of the Jazz Age, so Nicholas Maier writes a nice piece that captures the spirit of Wall Street in the 1990's - banal, common, vulgar, petty, and venal.The posturing, insider trading, contempt for the common investor, the arrogance of insiders, the rise of television as spin and its unholy marriage with the common cheats -- this book captures it all in an almost innocent manner. Nick looks at Wall Street with the eyes of the innocent. Even though the book was written as a purgative, its clear that Nick does not yet even realize what he has recorded for us. It should make interesting reading as the greatest bubble and fraud in financial history continues its inexorable unwinding, destroying most of the American public's life savings. What I liked about it the most was that is was so --- genuine. The lack of artifice, the almost photographic portrayal is remniscent of another period work, "I Am A Camera" which became the musical, "Cabaret." If you EVER envied the life of a professional trader, read this book. It's like working in a sweat shop. There are no heroes in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Karma visits Kramer
Review: Loved the book; Maier finally exposes Kramer for the weak, egomanaical bully that he is. As a fan of Squawk Box, I used to find Kramer entertaining and thought his commentary was based on genuine, well-researched viewpoints. I was sickened to find out Kramer is little more than mere two-bit front-runner, a slightly more sophistacted version of Tokyo Joe. What comes around goes around, and Kramer's cruel and demeaning treatment of fax machine repairmen, secretaries and other suborinates is coming back to haunt him.
Rating: 
Summary: from one opportunistic jerk about another......
Review: Nick Maier squanders an opportunity that many young and better-educated traders would love. This kid uses a family connection to get a job for which he is not qualified and which he in no way earned or deserved. In Maier's own words, he can barely answer the phone without sounding like the nitwit that he is. That Jim Cramer is arrogant and difficult and self-promoting is hardly a newsflash. If he has an actual, measurable achievement, it is in the founding of the Realmoney website, which (unlike this thin, whiny kiss-...-n-tell memoir) has done the real expose work on depicting the relationships between power brokers and the creation of wealth. The real stories are there, not here in this book. Cramer gave this callow kid a huge opportunity to make huge money and to learn from the inside out. If the kid really had a spine, he could have achieved more with his career opportunity than the publication of this whiny and superficial National Enquirer-esque peek behind the curtain. Without Cramer, Maier would have been a nothing and a nobody, just another lit major flipping burgers and living on his wealthy parents' dime, while sleeping in his old Snoopy sheets. Maier acts like the victim here, but you can bet that he is laughing all the way to the bank.
Rating: 
Summary: The truth hurts! Will the SEC ever wise up about Cramer???
Review: This book details the hard-hitting truth about the questionable tactics used by James Cramer to move the market. Cramer plays his role well by being so outspoken that the SEC would never even think about the alternate motives of his actions and comments. Whether it's "Da Street.con" or "America Not", don't believe a word Cramer says. If you want the truth, by this book and don't waste your time or money on the lies within 'Confessions Of A Street Addict'.
Rating:
Summary: A fun read, but.......
Review: The book was a fun read. While there's little here that will make you a better trader or investor, the book does provide valuable insight into the mindset of the hedge fund pros. I could have done without the numerous descriptions of the profanity-laced tirades and temper tantrums that regularly took place in the fund's trading room. On every other page, or so it seems, Cramer curses out some broker or throws a computer monitor against the wall. One or two examples of this stuff would have been enough; after the tenth example, it gets sort of boring.
Rating: 
Summary: This is atypical.
Review: I thought this book was very funny. There are 100's of hedge funds in New York. As a hedge fund analyst for several years, I've met Cramer and his analysts. None of them are very impressive or knowledgeable. Since his research was so sloppy and he tried to be an expert on everything, Cramer never had the information or confidence to take a stand. Cramer's great talent is in taking something simple like a bull market and making it seem complicated and confusing. He day traded technology during a bull market. Hard to lose money doing that. The constant yelling and screaming didn't make him any money. 99% of hedge fund managers don't yell. 99% of them don't work on Fridays, take summers off and spend time in the gym and with family. Cramer is interesting because he is the renegade yelling child. But he's no child prodigy, just a whiny kid who may need a diaper change.
Rating:
Summary: To Tell the Truth?
Review: True or not, it is a fun read. I found it useful in understanding the mindset of Hedge fund management and not just the Rev. Jim Bob. I had imagined Jim's operation as a Mahogany or Marble walled complex located at a prestigious Wall Street address operated by Gen-X boiler room sharks. Instead the author paints a scene of a one-table room above a Deli whose walls have long past needing a fresh coat of paint (let alone Marble or Mahogany). If this book had been written a fiction, I would have found it hard to believe the antics of the principal character. Since it is published as a non-fiction "Kiss and Tell" about Cramer, I think it is more believable. Did Jim do all the things the author claims? Don't know and don't care. I am sure everything done in the book was done by some Hedge Fund manager somewhere. If the accounts are not true, Cramer has a great lawsuit.
After reading the book, I have started playing: "Gangsta's Paradise" before each trading day!
Rating:
Summary: GREAT READ!!!
Review: Why isn't the NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer investigating his BUDDY Jim Cramer???!!! In my gut, I know that this book is 100% true (even though the publisher doesn't appear to want the legal fight to prove it). Bravo, Mr. Maier - you are a Profile in Courage!!! Thank you for exposing Cramer for the SCOUNDREL that he is!!!
Rating:
Summary: I KNOW THE TRUTH NOW THANKS TO MAIER
Review: The Cramer team, the lawyers and spin masters working for the hundred million dollar media creation James J Cramer, want you to think that it's all lies, lies, lies. But the NY Times reports "two former employees have already corroborated the story," and Cramer, who initially claimed Maier was "fired" has retracted that statement. Forbes says there's already an SEC investigation going on. See how one media figure manipulated the little guy at home for huge personal profits.
Rating:
Summary: Parts of book already retracted -- Embarassing
Review: See March 31, 2002, New Yort Times article "Close and Personal In a Media Maelstrom" HarperCollins is pulping 4000 books and sending errata slips to bookstores which hold the book on their shelves. Embarassing for HarperCollins.
-------- Some parts are funny but the author's "facts" can't be trusted -- already retracted the juiciest part (that dealing with the claim that Western Digital gave Insider info to Cramer).
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