Spoiling for a Fight: The Rise of Eliot Spitzer [Paperback]

Brooke A. Masters (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0805083022 | ISBN-13: 978-0805083026 | Publication Date: March 20, 2007

"Compelling, suspenseful, and deeply reported . . . Masters gives a dramatic inside account of the fight between Spitzer and the titans of finance."--Newsday

 

Few politicians have burst onto the American scene with as much impact as Eliot Spitzer. As New York's attorney general, he exposed wrongdoing by stock analysts, mutual fund managers, and insurance brokers, and investigated corporations that have misled or defrauded ordinary investors and consumers. And as the next governor of New York, Spitzer is now a rising star on the national political scene.

No reporter has had better or more complete behind-the-scenes access to Spitzer than Brooke A. Masters, who covered him for four years at The Washington Post. Spoiling for a Fight is her dramatic and revealing portrait of the politician who has brought down some of the biggest names in American finance and has set his sights on higher office. And in a new afterword, she chronicles his ascension to New York's highest office and assesses his future political prospects.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Masters's examination of the New York State attorney general's seven years in office is timely, given Spitzer's prosecutions of powerful financial industries and his candidacy in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. Even if Spitzer fails in his bid for the governorship, the book is worthy of study because it clearly explains the complicated, unsavory practices of insurance companies, mutual funds, Wall Street brokerages and the New York Stock Exchange. The author also skillfully places Spitzer in the context of previous reformers within government, especially Theodore Roosevelt, Louis Brandeis and Rudy Giuliani. She shows, too, how philosophical differences between state and federal regulators over the past 100 years set the stage for the crusading Spitzer. Masters, a New York–based reporter for the Washington Post, holds degrees from Harvard University and the London School of Economics that prepared her well for dissecting the arcane, corrupt industry routines usually unknown to consumers. Though Masters received cooperation from the 46-year-old Spitzer and many of his aides, this warts-and-all book demonstrates how the mostly sincere, mostly decent Spitzer can be hurt by his overweening ego and quick temper. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Spitzer, New York's combative attorney general, has made a name for himself prosecuting Wall Street investment bankers and expanding his office into areas traditionally considered federal domain, from civil rights to environmental protection. Washington Post reporter Masters renders a penetrating view of a man who has set his sights on the governorship of New York. Based on interviews with Spitzer, his friends and colleagues, executive targets, regulators, and prosecutors, Masters examines the influences on Spitzer's drive and pugnacity. From a privileged background, Spitzer has been an admirer of progressives from Theodore Roosevelt to Louis Brandeis. Spitzer has taken on the giants of Wall Street, including Merrill Lynch, AIG, and online trading firms, building court cases and making out-of-court settlements to investors. His critics have compared his zeal and political ambition to those of another former prosecutor, Rudolph Guiliani. As Spitzer prepares for his next political move, readers will enjoy this look at a progressive crusader whose passion and sense of moral outrage have led him to take on the lions of Wall Street. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks (March 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805083022
• ISBN-13: 978-0805083026
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,853,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brooke A. Masters is a Washington Post staff writer based in New York. She covers Wall Street, the securities industry and white-collar crime. Since 2002, she has had a close-up view of corporate malfeasance because her assignments included the trials of Martha Stewart, Frank Quattrone, the Rigas family and Bernard Ebbers. She also reported extensively for the Post on Eliot Spitzer's various investigations.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An attorney general willing to take on unscrupulous corporate giants (3.5*), September 3, 2006

By 

J. Grattan "Ideas can move the world" (Lawrenceville, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spoiling for a Fight: The Rise of Eliot Spitzer (Hardcover)

For a book that supposedly focuses on him, Eliot Spitzer for the most part remains a rather obscure character who operates in the background orchestrating a crackdown on various financial institutions engaged in all manner of highly unethical, if not criminal, behavior in the state of New York. It should be a disturbing book. The dishonesty and disrespect for the public evidenced in this book by major financial institutions is appalling.

The reader is supplied with Spitzer basics: wealthy upbringing, the best schools, good grades, etc. Given his background, he should have joined the club - the club that winks at financial shenanigans. But as a true believer in correct behavior, prosecutor, and later attorney general of New York, Spitzer became aware of cheating, collusion, and other assorted misdeeds among financial institutions and set out to do something about it.

The book is more or less a step-by-step account of several cases involving numerous companies, lawyers, analysts, brokers, CEOs, etc. The illegalities are often subtle and much debated, though the intent is always clear: make lots of money at the expense of the other guy. Conflicts are a big part of the author's story, not only with those that the AG's office was hounding, but with the SEC and other regulators. Not trusting the inaction of the SEC through the years, Spitzer's office constantly intruded on the SEC's turf and moved quickly to address the issues. The myriad players and details, some of which are presented better than others, get to be quite a chore to keep straight.

The author seems to assume that the reader will get to know Spitzer through his, or his proxy's, legal actions. But it is difficult to separate out Spitzer from the endless day-to-day detail of the cases. The reader gets snippets of Spitzer: a press conference, a document release, a decision made, etc. Beyond limitations on revealing Spitzer, one may have expected more general commentary and perspective on the questionable corporate actions. How widespread is cheating and collusion? And how much of that is technically legal? And why has there been so little action in regulating this? After all agencies are in place. Is American business really this degenerate?

The details tend to overwhelm the story, both the story of Eliot Spitzer and the greater story of corporate skullduggery. That is why the impact of the book is less than it could be. I'm certain that the only nomination for a Pulitzer prize will come from one of the earlier reviewers, who happens to hail from New York. New York insiders will probably enjoy the book simply to see who got caught, not to mention perhaps some minimal understanding of New York's next governor. It will be interesting to see if Spitzer has any lasting impact on corporate shenanigans and what the next chapter in his life will be.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars She Did Her Homework, But..., April 1, 2008

By 

R. SELIG "lovable rogue" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spoiling for a Fight: The Rise of Eliot Spitzer (Paperback)

Like the Bright Girl Ms. Masters no doubt was, and is, she reports every phone call, every e-mail, everything said at every meeting according to every participant. It's thorough but oddly, disappointingly, lifeless. There will be a bounce in the sales of this book what with the recent fall of the Governor amid scandal and disgrace. Alas, those who seek an insight as to how it all could have happened will have to look elsewhere.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A balanced look at Spitzermania, August 30, 2006

By 

Sanjay A. Paul "Avid Reader" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spoiling for a Fight: The Rise of Eliot Spitzer (Hardcover)

This book will intrigue anyone interested in the political process and law.

Masters offers a balanced view of Spitzer's war against wall street. The gist of the book is Spitzer's background and education (rich, ivy league, privilleged) and his ambitious rise to NY Attorney General where he has whipped into shape Wall Street. In doing so, Spitzer has caught the ire of many people who beleive that he is trespassing on sacred SEC and federal government grounds.

Others feel Spitzer is doing the job the SEC SHOULD have been doing. Whether you like him or not, the book offers an interesting perspective into a rising politician and the reaons why he will probably never have a legitimate shot at the White House (hint, its for the same reasons he's been thus far succesful).