Conflicted: A Novel [Hardcover]

Michael Culp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2003

David Meadows is busy. As Director of Research of one of Wall Streets largest brokerage firms, David has received a special assignment from his CEO that will generate, if he succeeds, a million pay day. And David, despite grave concerns about the sou

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fascinating book." -- CNN Financial News, April 29, 2003

"A gripping saga of corruption on Wall Street ... captivating and suspensefully written." -- Midwest Book Review, May 5, 2003

"A new novel takes on Wall Street research from the inside out ... filled with references to real-life people and events." -- Fortune Business Report - NY1 TV News, April 22, 2003

"Amazing! Hold on to your hats! It ain't called Conflicted for nothing." -- Financially Speaking, August 22, 2003

"Culp's timing could not have been better." -- Wall Street Letter, April 21, 2003

"I highly recommend the book, a most enjoyable and informative read." -- United Press International, April 18, 2003

"In a post-global-settlement world, 'Conflicted' offers, between the racy parts, some intriguing food for thought." -- The Deal, April 21, 2003

"Michael Culp tells tales. Veteran Wall Street research chief Michael Culp is revealing his innermost thoughts - without a subpoena." -- Institutional Investor, February 2003

"Mr. Culp addresses some timely issues in an expert manner." -- The New York Times, June 29, 2003

"Read Conflicted, the unbelievably good novel by Michael Culp." -- Jim Cramer, RealMoney.com, August 12, 2003

From the Publisher

Drawing on his 27 years of research experience, including almost two decades as a #1-ranked analyst and Director of Research at PaineWebber and Prudential Securities, Michael Culp lets readers live inside a Wall Street Research Department for 14 turbulent months. And in so doing, he demonstrates how the economics that drive Wall Street research will continue to hurt the small investor while revealing some of the temptations having nothing to do with investment banking to which morally challenged analysts could succumb.

For anyone who owns stocks or mutual funds, is investing for retirement or a child's education, watches a little CNBC or ever skims the business section of the Sunday paper, Conflicted will entertain and educate and be hard to put down.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 419 pages
• Publisher: Mecox Bay Press; 1 edition (March 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972796185
• ISBN-13: 978-0972796187
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,482,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, Wall Street revealed, August 28, 2003

By 

James J. Cramer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conflicted: A Novel (Hardcover)

Every day, about three times a day, people email me and say "I want to come to Wall Street, I want to be an analyst, I want to pick stocks." I used to give them the whole rap, now I tell them to buy Conflicted. Michael Culp knows more about how Wall Street works than virtually anyone i have ever known, and he tells it all, in a fast and funny form that works even if you have no deside to come to Broad & Wall. Read this book, it is tremendous!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Conflict on Wall Street, June 15, 2003

By 

Joseph H Pierre "Joe Pierre" (Salem, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Conflicted: A Novel (Hardcover)

Michael Culp has a winner here!

You know how they always tell you that the editorial section of the newspaper is absolutely autonomous, and is not affected by the fact that the party in question is a big advertiser? Well, Wall Street has similar conflicts of interest between the analysts in Research, the bankers and the brokers.

This is a fast-paced novel by a man who has been there,and it shows the seamy underside of Wall Street--the part we only read about occasionally in the papers. It reads as smoothly as any spy story by Clancy, and with as much suspense. The characters are alive and recognizable.

In any good fiction, there has to be enough of a grain of truth to make the story plausible. The plausibility here is enhanced by the author's many years as a Wall Street analyst. He is writing about the world he knows, and you get the feeling that it is just as he describes it.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sordid World of Wall Street, April 3, 2003

By 

Dr. Stephen A. Becker (Neptune, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conflicted: A Novel (Hardcover)

"Conflicted" is the explanation that we all are looking for to understand where our pension money went. The well-developed characters in Mr Culp's book are clearly more dedicated to their own well-being than they are to the hapless investors whose money creates the platform for these Wall Street icons to earn their extraordinarily high salaries. The leading character in the book seems to be the most principled character and the reader will find out where that attribute gets him. The breath and scope of the morality deficiencies portrayed by the "Conflicted" characters will keep the reader mesmerized and outraged.
If you ever wanted to know how Wall Street reasearch departments really work then Mr Culp's book "Conflicted" is a must read