When Genius Failed

By Roger Lowenstein

Categories: Business & Money

Roger Lowenstein's 2000 book tells the story of Long-Term Capital Management, a hedge fund founded in 1993 and staffed with prominent academics and traders. Drawing on internal memos and interviews, Lowenstein shows how the fund's early success gave way to an abrupt collapse in 1998 and a rescue organized by government officials. He examines how the partners' models, borrowing and arrogance put the financial system at risk. This edition adds an afterword on the 2008 financial crisis.

Recommended by 4 people

• Max Levchin
• Keith Rabois: “First four books to read in 2017.”
• Warren Buffett: “It isn't exactly analogous, but it's worth reading Roger Lowenstein's book entitled "When Genius Failed," because it touches on some of the problems we've described that Charlie and I are apprehensive about.”
• Shane Parrish: “I’ve been a huge fan of Roger Lowenstein since reading one of the books that literally changed my life (Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist). While I’d read When Genius Failed before, it was great to re-read this.”