When Genius Failed by Roger Lowenstein - Business & Finance Non Fiction - Paperback

Details
Condition: Brand New
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781841155043
Publisher: Fourth Estate

Overview
When Genius Failed is Roger Lowenstein's gripping account of the rise and collapse of Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM), the hedge fund run by Wall Street legend John Meriwether and staffed with Nobel Prize-winning economists. This brand-new UK paperback traces how a fund once considered infallible nearly brought down the global financial system, offering timeless lessons on risk, leverage, and hubris for investors, students, and general readers alike.

About the Book
In the mid-1990s, Long-Term Capital Management was the envy of Wall Street. Founded by bond trader John Meriwether and backed by brilliant minds including two Nobel laureates, the fund promised sophisticated mathematical models delivering consistent, near risk-free returns. For a time, it delivered spectacularly, attracting billions from banks, pension funds, and wealthy individuals. Roger Lowenstein takes readers inside the fund's workings, explaining how derivatives, arbitrage, and enormous leverage combined to create extraordinary profits. But when the 1997 Asian financial crisis and 1998 Russian default sent shockwaves through global markets, LTCM's models failed catastrophically. As losses mounted into the billions within weeks, the fund's collapse threatened a chain reaction across the world's banking system. Lowenstein documents the extraordinary intervention by the Federal Reserve and a consortium of Wall Street banks who orchestrated a private-sector bailout to avert a broader crisis. Drawing on his own experience covering Wall Street, Lowenstein crafts a narrative as gripping as a thriller yet grounded in rigorous financial reporting. The book remains one of the definitive accounts of how brilliance, arrogance, and unchecked leverage can create systemic risk, and continues to be cited as essential reading for understanding later financial crises, including the 2008 crash.

• A dramatic, page-turning account of one of Wall Street's most infamous collapses.
• Clear, jargon-free explanations of leverage, derivatives, and quantitative trading strategies.
• Deep insight into the personalities behind LTCM, including John Meriwether and his Nobel-winning partners.
• Essential context for understanding later financial crises, including the 2008 crash.
• Ideal for finance students, investors, economics teachers, and general readers alike.

About the Author
Roger Lowenstein is an acclaimed American financial journalist and author. A graduate of Cornell University, he spent more than a decade at The Wall Street Journal, including two years writing the influential "Heard on the Street" column. He is the author of several highly regarded books on finance and investing, and has contributed to publications including The New York Times and Bloomberg. He is the son of the late Louis Lowenstein, a Columbia Law School professor and noted critic of the financial industry, and has served as a director of the Sequoia Fund.

Why You'll Love This Book
A masterclass in financial storytelling, When Genius Failed combines sharp reporting with a genuinely thrilling narrative. Whether a finance professional or a curious newcomer, this book makes complex markets accessible and endlessly fascinating.

Please Note: Due to stock variations, the exact cover design may differ slightly from the image shown, though the ISBN and UK edition remain as described.