It was published more than 30 years ago. “Liar’s Poker” is the story of Lewis’ 1980s experience as a bond-seller.
“I wrote my first novel more than 30 years ago. Lewis described it as a mix of memoir and reportage.
He’s rereading “Liar’s Poker” using an audiobook and the companion podcast “Other People’s Money”. Lewis visited San Francisco’s Federal Reserve Bank to reflect on how the book changed his life. For CBS Mornings, he wrote about his experiences. Read his essay below:
It touched a nerve in our culture. I don’t know what nerves the culture has. This was something I had never done before. I didn’t know what to expect. The book soared to the top of all bestseller lists and remained there for over a year. It was then that I noticed something strange. I thought I had written a book that would put Wall Street in its proper place. My book was meant to inspire any young person contemplating a career in Wall Street. It didn’t happen. Within the first few months, I received maybe a thousand letters — mostly from young men — saying that they loved my book. I am now ecstatic to work on Wall Street. Do you have any tips for me on how to get in? What I initially thought was a cautionary tale turned into an instruction manual.
This is when I realized that authors simply write books. The words are defined by the readers.
I believed that “Liar’s Poker”, was the end of an era of financial madness. I am a 25-year old art history major, who had no idea about money and was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars per year to move large amounts of money. I thought I was just documenting the end to an era of Wall Street madness. This era was only the beginning of something larger — Wall Street grabbing a greater share of the U.S. economic pie. Wall Street people living by one set rules while most Americans follow another.
After I finished the book, I moved on. It was never reread. However, I have written several books on Wall Street. The world I described in “Liar’s Poker”, has changed. Wall Street was once filled with telephones, shouting, and large-bodied men. It was rude, crude, and socially unacceptable. Wall Street is now quiet. The hum of stacks of computers servers is its most important sound. People are more careful not to draw attention.
That’s why I believe people continue to read my book. It’s why, for example, Wall Street interns are given it as homework. Because I had seen the last of the great beast, just before it disappeared back into its cave. Inadvertently, I wrote something that endured.
Recently, I discovered that the audiobook rights for “Liar’s Poker” had been reverted to me. So, I decided to reopen “Liar’s Poker” again and record the entire thing. It was almost like meeting another me. It was difficult to go back and read the book. It reminded me how important it was to not just keep moving forward. It’s about taking the time to stop, look back and take a step back.
Everything about “Liar’s Poker” had been packed into boxes by bankers and kept in a sealed container for many decades. I took those boxes out after we had finished recording the audiobook and opened them up. I found another me inside those boxes. A guy who couldn’t see a decent title for his book, and was unable to even look at it. He also knew that he had a great story in front him.
It was a remarkable decision by him to give up a lot of money to write a book he believed could change the world. Even if it didn’t make the desired changes.
