Dangerous Dreamers: The Financial Innovators from Charles Merrill to Michael Milken

by Robert Sobel

Book Overview

A leading business historian presents a vivid account of the real causes of the 80's ''Junk Decade'' and its impact on the business world both here and abroad. Analyzes the great financial innovations from the 1940s to today, their effect upon American commerce and society and the controversial men who created them including Louis Wolfson, T. Boone Pickens, James Ling and Michael Milken.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471577340
• ISBN13: 9780471577348
• Release Date: April 1993
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

One of few books that concisely reviews the early history of financial innovation

While it wasn't quite what I expected, I have to give the book high marks. It is less about innovation and more about how the junk bond market arose from a historical perspective leading from the LBO and greenmail period. The author provided numerous insights connecting Greenmail, Junk Equity, and Junk bonds as well as the major players. He makes a cogent and compelling counter-argument to the Den of Thieves depiction of Mike Milken. It is definitely interest to point out who was tapped to go to jail relative to those that were guilty. It is also interesting to note the timing and potentially political driven characteristics of who went to jail and why. Were the book falls short for Practioners is that it lacks more detailed accounts of innovation and how the innovation occurred. Instead, it is clear that it is attempting to describe the actors and players of innovation. This more true towards the end than the beginning. For example, it was incredibly spot on to note the rise of the Pension fund structure and the consolidation of money pools that did not originate around the elite society. This was new and had significant impact. It was impressive to point out the rise and fall of the equities market, and how this changed the spectrum of return expectations. Possibly linking the funding considerations/return considerations that grew out of this with respect to the Pension funds might have been salient. Similarly, while he from time to time discusses the discount rate, there is only a hint at why the discount rates huge volatility over the period escalated the junk bond market demand as well as sent it crashing. I love that he mentions Mondiglioni's work and that he gives fair voice to the junk bond market innovations as having grown separately from major maturation of the LBO market. He may be one of few that I read that do not just lump these two innovations together. So big thumbs up there. Overall, a great read, since most of the actors in the book are still alive and very important in the financial market today.