Goldman Sachs

In this summary, you will learn

• How Wall Street investment banker Goldman Sachs grew to become a powerhouse
• How it survived crashes, arrests and hard times
• How market conditions and corporate culture shaped the company

getAbstract rating

Why you should read Goldman Sachs

Author Lisa Endlich begins her saga about Goldman Sachs, one of the world's premier investment banks, with its unexpectedly modest roots. The founder began with just a horse-drawn wagon of trade goods. Then, she leads readers through an enlightening history of the firm, enhanced by her sharp eye for detail. For instance, she describes partner Bob Rubin's shabby briefcase to illustrate the firm's predilection for understatement. Yet Endlich, a former Goldman Sachs trader, isn't the clear-eyed observer that a purely uninvolved journalist might be. She doesn't shy away from the difficult parts of Goldman Sachs' history, but she does sacrifice a bit of credibility by expecting readers to swallow the firm's "client-always-comes-first" party line. And whoever heard of an ego-less banker? At Goldman? Come on. Despite Endlich's fondness for the firm, getAbstract strongly recommends this book for its penetrating glimpse into the largely sequestered world of Wall Street investment banking. (NoteThis book's narrative ends just prior to Goldman's 1999 initial public offering.)

About the Author

Lisa Endlich was a vice president and foreign exchange trader at Goldman Sachs. She earned her master's degrees in management and in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She lives in England with her husband and three children.