Customer Reviews

Funny Money

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Growing up in Oklahoma my only real memory of the Penn Square Bank failure was when they pulled down the red-piggy-bank logo from the top of the building. It was something that was talked about on the national news every evening, but it wasn't well understood just how such a small local bank could cause such a ruckus.

Mr. Singer's book explains what was at the bottom of all of the trouble, how Penn Square fell from grace, and in the process of doing so provides interesting commentary on Oklahoma culture, as well as some history and other facts pertaining to the oil business. The book is very well written and quick paced, providing just enough detail to be considered in depth, while not languishing on unnecessary detail.

It is interesting to remark that the same conditions that caused everyone to say oil at $100 per barrel was a no-brainer are those that caused people to put forth the indestructible nature of internet-retailing. The Okiesmo of wildcats in pursuit of oil bears striking resemblance to the aggressive idiocy of venture capitalists fighting to put money into business plans that ignored common sense.

This book is satisfying on a lot of levels, the depth of information on the figures behind the bankruptcy, the environment that spawned and incented those figures and also the culture, both nationally and locally, which created this collapse. This is a very interesting book, and I highly recommend it.

Singer, an Ivy Leaguer from Oklahoma, gives us a pretty good look at how the failure of Penn Square bank nearly took several much larger ones with it back in 1982.

Where Singer's portrayal contrasts with that of others is that he speaks from personal and cultural acquaintance with many of the primary characters. This does not stop him from having a little fun at the expense of what he calls 'Okiesmo', the wildcatting and high-living ethic of the oil and gas industry, but it does mean that he sees his subjects as being (in most cases) basically decent human beings who made bad assumptions and boneheaded business decisions.

The only thing Singer lacks is a deeper exploration of the factors at the upstream banks (Seafirst, Continental, Michigan National, Chase, and more) that allowed Penn Square to balloon out of control. As someone who has seen a few related documents that he can't say much about, I can tell you with certainty that the 'wild and crazy guy' ethic was not limited to Penn Square, and that without the eager participation of larger banks, the whole affair would have been relatively insignificant. Good book for those interested in Oklahoma history, the gas drilling industry or (naturally) the Penn Square failure.

As one who lived through this, and is trained in economics and finance, and knew several of the individuals of the era, I enjoyed this book, but found it not as thorough nor displaying a comprehensive grasp of the context of the times as it could have. I felt like the author was striving more to be entertaining and engaging, than to provide a comprehensive historical record or in-depth economic analysis. I would recommend Philip Zweig's "Belly Up, the Story of Penn Square Bank" in its place for those seeking a more in-depth history. Zweig's book is better researched and also does an excellent job of communicating the flavor and energy of those years. I might give Singer's book a 3.6, but I think a 4.0 is too high.

As someone who has grown up in Oklahoma City and graduated from high school the year that the collapse had happened, I knew of some of the persons involved through other people.

The red piggy bank logo belonged to Sooner Federal Savings and Loan, and sat on top of 50 Penn Place.

Penn Square Bank had built what is now known as The Tower a couple of blocks down the street. They never moved into it, they were shut down while they were still inside the north end of Penn Square Mall, and the building was finished out after the closure.

Singer has relatives here in Oklahoma in the oil business, so he had some insight into the things that had happened.

If you want more detail, Belly Up goes into much more greater detail and is harsher in it's treatment of the characters involved.

Mark Singer has written one of my favorite books ever. It is simple to read and simply hilarious to think that a bank in a shopping maul almost brought down the entire banking industry of the United States and hence the world. Mark Singer's understanding of how this happened and the characters involved in the fiascal leaves the reader with a more profound and terrifying idea of what makes the world go round.

Mr Singer takes what should be a very dull project, the discussion of oil and loans and other economic issues, and makes it one of the most fun books I've read in a long time.

I don't know how he did it. It's uncanny. But this was an entertaining documentary. You wind up feeling that a bit more depth would help you understand, but in 2012 I can just google for such information (to be clear, this is about a situation from the mid 1980s that is only more relevant today than ever). In the 1980s, Penn backed an enormous volume of loans, much to energy exploration. The bank failed, and the taxpayer was left holding the bag. It couldn't be more relevant to today's financial issues.

You learn about the man behind the loans, the bank exec for a parent institution, and a major borrower, and their story unfolds. This is not an attack book, and it doesn't have to be to make you frustrated with how little we learned.

If you want a textbook on financial issues or the energy industry, this is not for you. This isn't a textbook... this is a storyteller presenting a relevant situation.

Entertainment with depth.

Well written and enjoyable - not a easy thing for such a potentially droll subject. Made a living shutting down oil companies for a while - now I know why.