The Accidental Investment Banker: Inside the Decade That Transformed Wall Street (Paperback)

by Jonathan A. Knee (Author)
Key Phrases: broad auction, telecom bankers, red car pet, Morgan Stanley, The Accidental Investment Banker, Goldman Sachs (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
If "investment banking" gives you visions of stodgy New York geezers harumphing and gufawwing in a black-suited gaggle, Knee's look at high finance in the '90s will change that. A thumping ride across deep waters, Knee evokes the precarious, risky thrills courted by businesspeople great and small. Smart, clever and unfailingly articulate, Knee made, in the nineties, a seemingly sensible career choice: to become a startlingly well-paid investment banker among prestigious big boys (names are named) at Goldman Sachs, and later Morgan Stanley. Clear-eyed enough never to give his whole life over to banking-as did many of his colleagues-Knee maintains a reporter's sense of detachment, observing how the decade in question turned into an economic house of mirrors as money-guzzling dotcoms bloomed and withered, playing havoc with long-established rules and mores, nurturing an era of incompetence and brawling, veiled in the traditional pseudo-gentility of a privileged profession: "The goal was to do deals, generate revenue, and be noticed. ... whatever the cost, particularly when someone else bore that cost." Are bankers the "greediest people in the world?" Is an MBA one of the "poorest educational choices?" As the book progresses, these questions take on the quality of a whodunnit mystery, in which not only is everyone a suspect-almost everyone is guilty. Funny and knowing, this business memoir debut should appeal to a wide swath of business veterans.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Knee, an investment banker at Goldman Sachs for four years beginning in 1994 and at Morgan Stanley from 1998 to 2003, describes the operations of these firms and explains the role of investment bankers and how "deals" are done. He weaves a fascinating tale of his employers and a multibillion-dollar industry, which was transformed culturally and structurally by extraordinary growth and then devastating retrenchment at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Knee mourns what he contends is the loss of historic integrity in the transition from boom to bust and describes many industry changes, including competition from hedge funds and LBOs (leveraged buyout firms). This book will attract those in the -investment-banking community as well as students of Wall Street. However, the author's lavish praise of certain individuals at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley set against his stinging criticism of others reflect his judgment and perhaps that of his anonymous sources. His view of reality may not be shared by all. Mary Whaley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks (July 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812978048
• ISBN-13: 978-0812978049
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #119,427 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very True, Very Real, September 9, 2006

By	Sheryl Katz (Chatsworth, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Accidental Investment Banker: Inside the Decade that Transformed Wall Street (Hardcover)

I could really relate to this book. Up until four months ago, for the previous seven years, I was the General Counsel of a medium sized publishing company. Our company was backed by Private Equity, and a large part of my role was mergers and acquisitions. During that time I interacted with more investment bankers, bankers, and money fund managers than I could possibly remember. Prior to that I worked for a couple of years in the M&A group of a Fortune 500 publishing company, and prior to that I spent 20 years in government and large law firms.

I have never personally met Jonathan Knee, at least not that I remember, but my company danced and flirted several times with his current company. I knew people at pretty much every boutique publishing investment bank in New York. So, while I didn't work as an insider at an investment banking firm, I've been as close as you can get. And this books is absolutely dead on accurate both in its historical perspective as well as its view of what life is like inside the investment banking industry.

Knee comes across as somewhat conflicted. He obviously likes the money and maybe the prestige of investment banking, but he knows that investment banking has a side that is ugly and corrupt. He wants to continue in the industry, but he also wants to expose its faults. As a consequence sometimes the book waffles. For example, he criticizes Mary Meeker and defends her at the same time. He clearly does not want to burn any bridges.

He accurately captures the sense of power and feeling of doing something important that comes from investment banking. In particular the satisfaction of advising CEOs and seeing ones advice taken. Based on my own experience, in the world as it is today, the feeling of doing something important can be much more tangible when working with big business than working in the government as he notes.

Still, he longs for a different time when relationship investment banking was the heart of the business. I have the sense that if one were really to talk with him heart to heart that his awareness of the corruption runs deeper than he is willing to fully disclose in this book. In part I think this is the reason some of the reviewers here were disappointed with the book. However, I also think the palpably conflicted nature of his feelings ultimately makes this book more interesting, if less of a simple entertainment.

If you are looking for a rollicking but superficial account of the investment banking world, along the lines of Liar's Poker, this is not the book. If you are looking for a deep historical analysis of the growth of investment banking, along the lines of something written by Ron Chernow, this is not the book. But as a thoughtful insiders account with good historical perspective, this is an excellent book

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stay on Story, September 28, 2006

By	R. Spell "raspell" (Memphis, TN USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Accidental Investment Banker: Inside the Decade that Transformed Wall Street (Hardcover)

As an I-Banker at a regional firm I always enjoy reading books such as this. This is a mixed bag. Knee starts the book discussing his internship in London, what a "rookie" does, what he did well, what he did not do well, and why he didn't want to do this forever. But, after an MBA and a short career with an airline, he's back at it again, and with success. He "accidentally" fell into a role and used his wit to carve out a successful niche. This is where this book is at its best and an excellent, fast read.

Unfortunately, it's not quite a full book and Knee feels the need to regurgitate a past history of Goldman Sachs, the excellent firm for which he works. This is where the book slows down and is totally out of character with the title. Given I had just read "Goldman Sachs: Culture of Success" written by Lisa Endlish to whom he refers liberally, this was really of no interest to me.

Finally, we're back to his career change to Morgan Stanley in New York and now have a new problem, the total collapse of deals where bankers earn their money. This is quite interesting also. As I-bankers will attest, the business becomes ruthless with inter-fighting as everyone grabs for the few crumbs of income, people must be let go and mansions and egos must be protected.

Overall, I love the book and I'd rather he had shortened the book and stayed on subject instead of spending 30% of time on a history lesson before jumping back to his career. So, be forewarned, it's good with a twist.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wall Street Spectator, August 30, 2006

By	Wall St. spectator (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Accidental Investment Banker: Inside the Decade that Transformed Wall Street (Hardcover)

The Accidental Investment Banker (the "AIB") has been compared with Liar's Poker, and surely readers who enjoyed the latter will also enjoy the AIB. But in some respects the comparison is unfair to the AIB, because as it is not only a quick and amusing story of Wall St in the '90s, but a serious analysis of a transformative decade in investment banking. As an attorney who participated in the process on the periphery, I can testify that Knee understands the key economic, business and regulatory trends and knows the"trophy" bankers who shaped decade, and the culture of their firms. The AIB is a great read for anyone on the Street (or in the "City," for that matter), anyone in the "codependent" professions (lawyers and consultants), MBA candidates and those contemplating it, and anyone who enjoys Wall St. as a spectator sport.