This is not really a book but more of a collection of interviews that Keith Gessen did with an anonymous hedge fund manager (abbreviated in the book as HFM). The interviews were conducted for n+1, an online magazine. This book looks at the thoughts and ramblings of HFM just before the 2008 crisis and through it. Diary is a good book about the crisis through the lens of a financial practitioner. Because Gessen interviewed HFM as a layman, having no previous financial whatsoever going into the interviews, the book can be easily appreciated even by those who have no deep financial knowledge (What the hell is a CDO?!). The information is dispensed in a witty manner and it is interesting to see HFM's opinions and reactions to the crisis as it unfolds in "real time". This book is not an in-depth discussion of the crisis and the interviews have more of a casual feel to them. This is not a very long or difficult-to-understand read.
Available in NLB: Yes
Recommended: Yes
