Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Book Break: Bombardiers


It was a filthy profession, but the money was addicting, and one addiction led to another, and they were all going to hell. Turner had gone to hell, and Mike McAfferey had gone to hell. Wes "Green Thumb" Griffin developed a wandering eye, while Antonia Zennario, who used to joke that "all investors were made from Adam's rib," lost her sense of humor, and then her smile, and then her job. Carol Manning miscarried. Coyote Jack began to stutter on his numbers and was moved into management. They had all gone to hell. Sid Geeder hated them all and missed them like crazy. The phone rang constantly and everyone suffered cauliflower ears, neck rashes, and cervical pain, and when the sun came up in the morning and they had already been at their desks two, three hours, they went to the forty-first-floor window and imagined what it would be like to have to ride a bus or find a parking place. The squawk box crackled as traders in London and New York and Chicago bid up the long bond, then it quieted as the dust cleared and they settled in to wait for retail to continue the rally. Green monochrome monitors tinted everyone's face a pasty color, and Lisa Lisa reached for her pancake of low-lustre, firming-action moisture cream. Sidney Geeder drank some coffee. Nickel Sansome massaged his scalp. Sue Marino flipped thorough a bridal magazine.

- From Bombardiers by Po Bronson

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Great pointer, Michael. I hunted for this book for a couple of years after some people I really respect recommended it. Then, coming back from India, I went through Dubai and, as they intend I had a long layover and lots of shops to browse through. I found a copy of Bombardiers in a bookshop there. It was a British edition. It was done by the time I got to Amsterdam. Great book.