Table of Contents
Michael Lewis is a prolific writer and his books are widely celebrated. But with so many titles to choose from, where does one start? This guide will provide a brief description of each book, in chronological order, to help you decide which ones are right for you.
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game (2003)
Moneyball is a non-fiction book that looks at the Oakland Athletics baseball team and their use of sabermetrics, a system for measuring in-game activity to find undervalued players. The book is widely credited with popularizing sabermetrics and has been praised for its insights into the game of baseball.
The story is told from the perspective of three players on the team- one of whom is Oakland’s manager, Billy Beane. The second perspective is from the team’s assistant general manager, Paul DePodesta, who is a key figure in the team’s use of sabermetrics. The third perspective is from Scott Hatteberg, one of the players Beane and DePodesta bring in to the team based on their sabermetric findings.
The book details the A’s 2002 season, in which the team went on to win an American League record 20 consecutive games. Lewis paints a compelling picture of how Beane and DePodesta use statistics to build a successful team. Moneyball is not just a story of baseball; it is a story of human hubris and the power of data. Moneyball is a compelling read and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the game or in business stories.
The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game (2006)
The Blind Side tells the story of Michael Oher, a young man from a broken home who was taken in by a wealthy family and went on to become a first-round draft pick in the NFL. The book explores the role that race and socioeconomic status play in American football.
Lewis uses Oher’s story to examine the intersection of class, race, and sports in the United States. The Blind Side is a compelling read. Lewis tells the story from multiple points of view, including that of Oher himself, making it an emotional read, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in an honest look at the NFL or in stories about overcoming adversity.
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine (2010)
The Big Short tells the story of the subprime mortgage crisis from the perspective of those who saw it coming and made billions bet against the housing market. The book won Lewis the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award. It is a complex story, told in Lewis’ usual engaging style. The book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the financial crisis. I would recommend it to anyone interested in business or economics. Lewis begins the book by profiling hedge fund manager Steve Eisman, who correctly predicted the subprime crisis.
Eisman’s story is fascinating, and Lewis does a great job of explaining the complex financial concepts in layman’s terms. The book also features trader Greg Lippmann, who made a fortune by betting against the subprime market, and investors Charlie Ledley and Jamie Mai, who started their own hedge fund to bet against the housing market. The book is full of fascinating stories about the people behind the biggest financial disaster in U.S history.
Lewis describes the complex financial concepts in layman’s terms, and I found the book to be essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the financial crisis.
Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt (2014)
Flash Boys exposes high-frequency trading, which uses complex algorithms to buy and sell stocks in milliseconds. The practice has come under fire for giving an unfair advantage to those who can afford it. Lewis argues that the stock market is fundamentally broken and that high-frequency trading has contributed to the market’s volatility. I would recommend Flash Boys to anyone interested in business or economics.
Lewis tells the story of three individuals- his own perspective as a reporter for the New York Times; John Carreyrou, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal; and Bart Smith, a financial analyst- who investigate high-frequency trading. Lewis learns that high-frequency trading gives an unfair advantage to those who can afford it, and that the stock market is fundamentally broken. Carreyrou’s investigation lead to the arrest of a high-frequency trader. Smith’s investigation leads him to conclude that the stock market is rigged. Carreyrou and Smith agreed to write a book about their experiences.
The main reason that Lewis concludes that the market is rigged is because high-frequency traders are able to buy and sell stocks in milliseconds. By doing this, high-frequency traders have an unfair advantage over others who cannot afford to buy or sell stocks at these speeds. Lewis gives a detailed description of the high-frequency trading practices that he encounters.
Flash Boys is a compelling read, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in financial journalism or the stock market. Lewis takes a close look at the psychology behind high-frequency trading, and I found his insights to be interesting and insightful.
The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds (2016)
The Undoing Project tells the story of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, two Israeli psychologists whose work on heuristics—mental shortcuts that humans use to make decisions—revolutionized our understanding of decision-making. Lewis learned that the two men had a profound influence on his own thinking. For example, Kahneman helped Lewis understand the irrational behavior exhibited by humans in decision-making situations. Further, Lewis learned that Kahneman and Tversky had an impact on the development of decision theory as a whole.
No matter what your interests are, there is likely a Michael Lewis book out there for you. By chronicling stories of underdog victories, financial crises, and game-changing discoveries, Lewis has helped shaped our understanding of the world around us. So grab one of his books off the shelf and settle in for a good read.