Freud in the City

"The best aspect of this book is all the dialogue, which captures all the
people and situations with great economy. It's like Barbarians at the Gate
in that way, though how Freud managed to remember all those conversations
over 20 years is amazing. I laughed out loud at the bit where he is having a row with Gerald Corbett of Railtrack in the dark because neither of them could work out how to operate the movement sensitive light switch.I like his persona, too. He doesn't take himself too seriously and spends a fair chunk of the book poking fun at his own cock-ups. As he admits, a safe pair of hands he certainly wasn't, at least not in the early years.He rushes through many of his big later deals, though, probably because they went OK and he couldn't get a funny angle. "
~ Written on 2008-10-14

"Good autobiographies of City folk or well written reflexions on what they think works in finance are often some of the best book ever. The pseudonymous "Adam Smith"'s _Money Game_ being one of the classics, and other examples being _Liar's Poker_ and most recently Barton Biggs' _Hedge Hogging_ and Nicolas Taleb's _Fooled by randomness._ I bought this book hoping that it was of the same calibre as these. It isn't. Much of what is described in the book is merely what it is like to be a manager and work in an office. The writing is grammatical and jogs along, and the author comes across as pleasant and able to laugh at himself, but also a vain and undecided as to whether he is really an outsider to the City or whether he is of it. It felt that behind this trying to have it both ways lurks an intellectual conceit and a desire to make as much money as possible while sneering at the City for housing people who want to do the same. When I gave up reading the book, two thirds of the way through, I felt the author had little idea of the bigger picture into which his work in his bank fitted. However, I do hope the author writes another book, because he has the experience and intellect (as he spars no effort to let the reader know) to write one of the classics. "
~ Written on 2008-03-19

"This is an excellent read. I was nearly put off by the subject matter - career of some Freud offspring in banking - but it actually reads like a great novel. I got caught-up in the characters, the deals, the atmosphere - and when I reflected after reading the book I realised I actually knew a whole lot about the workings of the city, without any of the pain of a text book. I would definitely recommend it - if nothing else there is some great dialogue and stories, so it's sure to amuse. And if you want to know about how the City works, it's a must."
~ Written on 2006-05-18