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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 332.6442282092
EAN: 9780061252730
Edition: Reprint
ISBN: 0061252735
Label: Harper Perennial
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 320
Publication Date: August 01, 2008
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release Date: August 12, 2008
Studio: Harper Perennial
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
After conquering the hallowed halls of Harvard Business School, an Italian-American kid from the streets of Brooklyn decides to take on the testosterone-fueled Merc Exchange in lower Manhattan—where billions of dollars in oil money trade hands every week and where fistfights are known to break out on the trading floor.
Soon our hero is living the good life in the gold-lined hotel palaces of Dubai and on private yachts in Monte Carlo, teeming with half-naked girls flown in by Saudi sheikhs, and making deals in the dangerous back alleys of Beijing. But that's only the beginning. Taken under the wing of another young gun and partnering with a mysterious young Muslim, the kid embarks on a dangerous adventure to revolutionize the oil trading industry—and, along with it, the world.
This is a true story.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
The good news was that I was not expecting much and I paid Kindle price rather then airport price. The bad news is that the book is not very well written and loaded with cheesy stereotypes.
Rating:  -
don't waste your time on this book. i dont even want to waste any more time writing a review for it.
Rating:  -
Mezrich is one of very few authors who can get so excited telling a story he forgets to use a thesaurus, doesn't bother to investigate the side stories or backgrounds, and you still get completely enthralled.
But that's the magic of it. It is truly as if he is sitting in front of you telling the story. In both "Rigged" and "Ugly Americans" the Author doesn't try to explain more than he knows. He takes a lot of heat from reviewers here who seem to think he is working for 60 minutes, but I believe this trait is to be respected.
These same reviewers rave about books authored by individuals who have no connection - often instead a disdain - for the staging subject matter or profession. Such reveiwers often act like some kind of instant experts, thinking their research reading the Atlantic and Vanity Fair made them so, inventing snyde remarks to make the new sound old hat.
They are not experts. Mezrich, whether he knows it or not, is one step ahead of these reviewers in the eyes of many of us who have worked in the financial world for years. He would be a joke if he portrayed himself the expert, and he wisely does not.
Likewise the details and side stories. Yes, it sometimes reads like a script. But what a great script. The Author stays away from trying to detail nuances or side stories he does not know. I find this to his credit. This fact does not stop him from fully developing the critical characters.
Mezrich also runs the gauntlet of many "traders" in both this and his previous book. Review after review is posted by someone who is a trader somewhere else "where the real trading is done". These rediculously low reviews prove Mezrich's depiction of the competetiveness of the field.
Other reviewers want to reiterate parts of the story to remind us how rough and tough and ruthless their world is. We mere mortals are to be intimidated and amazed. Both of these types of reviewers ar trying to compete, even here.
"Rigged" is another stylish, wild ride of read from Mezrich. Not a pulitzer, but a hell of a good time.
Rating: -
I was disappointed in the authors book on the Ivy league kid and DME. I felt like I was jumping around the subject and the whole story. All through the book I felt like I did not know if this story was true or false, leading me to believe in the end that this could have been madeup, if not knowing that in the end there really is a DME. If I have to look it up on the internet to finish the story, then this book lost me. I believe that I paid the appropriate amount for this book as I bought it at the bargin bin at B&N.
Rating:  -
When you read one book by author Ben Mezrich, you quickly become addicted to the style of writing and intensity that Mezrich puts into his books that are based upon real life events. Mezrich has a keen way to bring the reader directly into the story lines that take place within his books and once you are done reading his works it is as if you might have actually been part of the events that place within his books.
With Mezrich making it even bigger with his book Bringing Down the House being made into the blockbuster film 21, the Mezrich fan base has grown greatly and his fan base from Bringing Down the House is now reaching out for more Mezrich books to dive into. If in fact you might fit that category, the next Mezrich book that you should be reaching for is Rigged.
Rigged tells the story of an ambitious young businessman by the name of David Russo. Russo hails from the sort of old-fashioned New York style of family who decides that he wants something more for himself and lands himself a solid education at Harvard University. Because of nothing more than perhaps a bit of outside the box thinking and intestinal fortitude, Russo lands himself a rather impressive and important job with the Merc Exchange.
Though he is not part of the old school mentality that is part of sort of the rough and tumble Merc Exchange, he quickly works his way up with the executive side of the operations at the Merc rather than working in the pit as a trader. The Merc is sort of a more gruff style of trading than perhaps what most know the New York Stock Exchange as being and certainly the Harvard educated youngster with not a whole lot of real life experience under his belt is a prime candidate for being somewhat abused by the more senior pit members at the Merc.
Notwithstanding the harassment and skepticism that is launched at him by some of those within the pit, Russo ends up becoming one of the top ranking members of the Merc in a very short period and as such is given a special project to move the Merc to the next level. The government of Dubai has reached out to the Merc and has asked the Merc to meet with Dubai officials relative to potential partnerships that might take place. Though the pit workers at the Merc think that what lies in Dubai is nothing more than additional 9/11 terrorists due to their own ignorance, David is willing to give Dubai a try and see what opportunities might await not just him but the Merc, as well, there.
While in Dubai, Russo partners with one of Dubai's power family members Khaled who himself represents a younger, sort of Western style businessman. Though he constantly is reminded of his traditional Muslim rules and regulations that face him at every turn, Khaled represents the new style of Dubai thinking that is very much pro-Western and more importantly pro-capitalist mentality that is at work in Dubai. Khaled has been assigned to work with Russo to investigate the feasibility of launching a Dubai Mercantile Exchange and to take a look at whether or not success would lie in the creation of a mercantile exchange that focuses on trading oil directly in the heart of where a large bulk of the world's oil was coming from. Though there indeed would be obstacles that would lie ahead of them, the pair of ambitious young, educated men had were the best bet for both the Merc and the government of Dubai to ensure the success of a mercantile exchange in Dubai.
Russo learns not just of the economic issues surrounding the creation of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange but also learns a great deal about the culture of Dubai and what it would take for the DME to be successful. There is a good examination of the issues within the book and not only does the book read as a story but is also reads as a sort of textbook in terms of allowing the reader to really learn quite a bit about both how the mercantile exchange operates and about the intricacies of Dubai.
Rigged has a nice personal flair added in the book as the character development within the book is quite excellent. The development of Russo as a character is brilliant and when you are done reading Rigged it is as it David Russo and Khaled are close friends of yours and that you know the stories within the book not because you read the book but because they might have actually told you their accounts for themselves.
Ben Mezrich has once again written a remarkable book with Rigged and it is becoming abundantly clear that Mezrich's style of writing will continue to garner him an extended fan base. The quality that Mezrich puts into his writing is evidenced time and time again throughout this book and the complete project is simply put: amazing.
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