This author presents a thorough and conclusive account of Mike Milken. The level of depth she was able to provide here is really impressive.

Today the phrase "securities fraud" evokes Enron, WorldCom and Tyco. Two decades ago, it evoked Drexel Burnham Lambert, the investment bank that ruled the junk-bond realm and helped fund some of the most audacious corporate takeovers of the 1980s. Enthroned at the center of Drexel Burnham was the king of junk, Michael Milken. Was he a financial genius who found ever more clever ways to make markets more efficient? Or was he a swindler running the world's biggest Ponzi scheme? New Yorker writer Connie Bruck sets out to answer those questions in this cautionary tale of Drexel's rise and fall. getAbstract recommends this fascinating, highly detailed financial history. However, the flaw in Bruck's narrative is the absence of a third act: She inexplicably ends the book before Milken's trial and sentencing. While its ending is weak, this provocative story makes one thing clear: Uneasy lies the head that wears a leveraged crown.

I Love this Book and the Brass ones it took to actually write it!
Magic Mike was brilliant! Not so legal, but a genius!
And "The Predator's Ball", was a just a Very expensive weekend party in a bungalow at The Hotel California!
Great story, too bad it will never be a movie!

Highly regarded as one of the finest pieces of business investigative journalism written, Connie Bruck's groundbreaking work on the subject of junk bonds and corporate financing was written during a time when the business press universally admired Drexel Burnham for their ability to turn junk into gold.

You will find this book quite entertaining and comprehensible. A smooth read not filled with too much industry jargon, its nomenclature friendly enough even for the beginner. It highlights the bright sides as well as the dark sides of the critically acclaimed Junk-bond king Michael Milken and allows each of us to have his or her own view on Milken and Drexel Burnham's underlying philosophy.

Although the book does lean heavily towards Milken having a me first attitude, it does manage to pin down a few important business lessons underscored by him that cannot be overlooked. You will not waste any time reading this piece. You will definitely be on the winning side by reading this book.

This book will definitely generate scores of topics to discuss and debate about the philosophies of American business that dominated Wall Street in the 1980s. This future classic highlights many corporate raiders that are still vehemently visible today. Just to name a few: players like Carl Icahn, Nelson Peltz, Ron Perelman, T. Boone Pickens and a host of others.

A definite must read for those interested in banking, financial history, and especially for business students.

Highly regarded as one of the finest pieces of business investigative journalism written, Connie Bruck's groundbreaking work on the subject of junk bonds and corporate financing was written during a time when the business press universally admired Drexel Burnham for their ability to turn junk into gold.



You will find this book quite entertaining and comprehensible. A smooth read not filled with too much industry jargon, its nomenclature friendly enough even for the beginner. It highlights the bright sides as well as the dark sides of the critically acclaimed Junk-bond king Michael Milken and allows each of us to have his or her own view on Milken and Drexel Burnham's underlying philosophy.



Although the book does lean heavily towards Milken having a me first attitude, it does manage to pin down a few important business lessons underscored by him that cannot be overlooked. You will no doubt waste any time reading this piece. You will definitely be on the winning side by reading this book.



This book will definitely generate scores of topics to discuss and debate about the philosophies of American business that dominated Wall Street in the 1980s.



A definite must read for those interested in banking, financial history, and especially for business students.

Highly regarded as one of the finest pieces of business investigative journalism written, Connie Bruck's groundbreaking work on the subject of junk bonds and corporate financing was written during a time when the business press universally admired Drexel Burnham for their ability to turn junk into gold.

You will find this book quite entertaining and comprehensible. A smooth read not filled with too much industry jargon, its nomenclature friendly enough even for the beginner. It highlights the bright sides as well as the dark sides of the critically acclaimed Junk-bond king Michael Milken and allows each of us to have his or her own view on Milken and Drexel Burnham's underlying philosophy.

Although the book does lean heavily towards Milken having a me first attitude, it does manage to pin down a few important business lessons underscored by him that cannot be overlooked. You will no doubt waste any time reading this piece. You will definitely be on the winning side by reading this book.

This book will definitely generate scores of topics to discuss and debate about the philosophies of American business that dominated Wall Street in the 1980s.

A definite must read for those interested in banking, financial history, and especially for business students.

Connie Bruck tells the tale of the rise of Drexel Burnham, Michael Milken, and the modern day junk bond market, from the early beginning all the way up to the end.

The Predators Ball is a great bit of investigative writing. The dramatic events really keep you hooked, although at some points the level of detail requires hunkering down for the long haul. Overall, recommended for any Street junkie or anyone interested in Drexel Burnham and Michael Milken.

This book is a great reference point to many of the activities that occurred in the 1980s and how those events impact Wall Street and the financial markets today. While not as well written as other books in the genre, it makes an emphasis of using facts as opposed to circumstantial evidence presented as facts (which many similar books such as "Den of Thieves" and "Barbarians at the Gate" use) and that makes this book a cut above the rest.

I gave the book 4 stars simply for the topic, it reads reasonably well, and it appears that the author has done a good amount of research, covering much of Milken's and Drexel's rise and fall. The book, however, is one sided (against Milken). The last few chapters are blatantly so and become almost unbearable in there tone.

Given the realization of how absolutely astonishing it is that one man influenced, almost singlehandedly, a financial era, I would recommend reading as much on the topic as possible. This would include the Predators Ball.

This is a decent overview of the malfeasance that was perpetuated by Drexel Burnham and Michael Milken. It however pails in comparison to the account that James Stewart presents in Den of Thieves. If you want to focus on the big event during one year this is a decent way to do it but you are really missing out on a much better account.

This is a decent overview of the malfeasance that was perpetuated by Drexel Burnham and Michael Milken. It however pails in comparison to the account that James Stewart presents in Den of Thieves. If you want to focus on the big event during one year this is a decent way to do it but you are really missing out on a much better account.

It was worth buying and reading. You should be able to achieve your goals and target your objectives properly with this book.

Connie Bruck's tale of greed on (off) Wall Street in the 1980s, focusing solely on Drexel and its Milken-led rise and fall is thorough. Unfortunately, it is a little too meticulous. To understand the junk bond empire Milken created is to understand the meteoric rise and subsequent fall of both him and the company he led to prominance. But the pages upon pages of specific deal details are best understood by investment banking professionals, financiers, etc. I enjoy reading (and for the most part understand) the inner workings of wall street deals, but the level of detail Bruck provides was a little overwhelming.

I read this in combination with Den of Thieves, which paints as detailed a picture of Wall Street's misappropriations in the 1980s across a variety of characters and institutions. For less exhausting read, I recommend reading Den of Theives.

By the way, Milken was tried, convicted and jailed because he was a criminal. I figured since so many other apologists on Amazon threw in their two cents on Milken's guilt (or lack of) that I would too. He was a crook, plain and simple.

Connie Bruck's tale of greed on (off) Wall Street in the 1980s, focusing solely on Drexel and its Milken-led rise and fall is thorough. Unfortunately, it is a little too meticulous. To understand the junk bond empire Milken created is to understand the meteoric rise and subsequent fall of both him and the company he led to prominance. But the pages upon pages of specific deal details are best understood by investment banking professionals, financiers, etc. I enjoy reading (and for the most part understand) the inner workings of wall street deals, but the level of detail Bruck provides was a little overwhelming.

I read this in combination with Den of Thieves, which paints as detailed a picture of Wall Street's misappropriations in the 1980s across a variety of characters and institutions. For less exhausting read, I recommend reading Den of Theives.

By the way, Milken was tried, convicted and jailed because he was a criminal. I figured since so many other apologists on Amazon threw in their two cents on Milken's guilt (or lack of) that I would too. He was a crook, plain and simple.

This book is fun to read and it full of interesting stories about specific takeovers and deals that took place. It is lacking however in detailing what happened to Milken in the end.

This is probably because it was written before the story ended.

I would like to read a book on the subject written today that can benefit from hindsight and having the full picture in view.

This book is really good when it comes to describing the setting; not only the facts and events but also the mood and the general feel of the time period.

This book is fun to read and it full of interesting stories about specific takeovers and deals that took place. It is lacking however in detailing what happened to Milken in the end.

This is probably because it was written before the story ended.

I would like to read a book on the subject written today that can benefit from hindsight and having the full picture in view.

This book is really good when it comes to describing the setting; not only the facts and events but also the mood and the general feel of the time period.

"Predator's Ball" follows the rise of the junk bond market, from Michael Milken's ambitions in the 1970s through Drexel Burnham's dominance of the market under Milken's leadership in the 1980s, including Drexel's controversial financing of high-profile hostile takeovers, to the beginning of legal trouble for Drexel in 1986. Author Connie Bruck interviewed hundreds of people over a 2 ý-year period, including Drexel employees and Drexel clients, to learn what went on inside "the Department", Drexel's mythic Beverly Hills junk bond offices. Bruck becomes increasingly critical of Michael Milken's tactics as the book progresses, but it is worth noting that she did not set out to write an exposý. Bruck approached the project with sympathies "more toward Milken and his band of renegades than toward the corporate establishment they were attacking", but years of peering inside the Department changed her mind. Regardless of where your sympathies lie, there is a lot of admirable research and fascinating detail in "The Predator's Ball".

The story of the junk bond market is the story of Michael Milken's single-minded rise to power. Milken WAS the market, as they say. Accordingly, most of "The Predator's Ball" is dedicated to Milken's ambition to fund a new generation of businesses with high-yield low-rated bonds ("junk bonds"), his creation of a department at Drexel that embodied his unique views of productivity and capitalism, and the ways and means to Drexel's utter domination of the junk bond market in the 1980s. Milken's larger than life presence is nearly absent, however, from the book's three longest chapters, which detail successful hostile raids financed by Drexel: Nelson Peltz and Peter May's buyout of National Can, Carl Icahn takes TWA, and Ron Perelman's acquisition of Revlon. These chapters are something of a digression in the Milken story, as he was not front and center in the drama, but they provide blow-by-blow accounts of exactly how these leveraged buyouts worked and insight into the realities of LBOs. Michael Milken created a market for junk bonds where there was almost none, sought 100% market share for Drexel, and used that market to change the face of corporate America. He did it by astutely and commendably flouting convention, but did he flout ethics and law as well? Judge for yourself.

The book is great but it leaves you shaking your head in disbelief. One must conclude that there is no effective control by the SEC over companies on the NYSE and NADAQ.

I found this to be just a riveting book to read. It reminded me of the movie Wall Street although from what I gather Michael Milken at Drexel Burnham was not as good looking as Michael Douglas and he wore a hair piece and drove an older Oldsmobile, not a Ferrari.

Milken while reading the Wall Street Journal and similar material on the bus going to business school in Philadelphia came up with this idea of selling the junk bonds. Once he graduated and was employed he pushed that idea, similar to the way Fred Smith pushed Fed.Ex. - another college idea. It comes clear in the book, just shouting out at you, that he had lots of help. Banks helped him, brokers helped him, other companies helped him, he opened a new office for Drexel in LA and in general just took over that company - all because people knew and appreciated that he was going to make buckets of money. His whole scheme was in fact similar to a pyramid scheme with everyone getting fat fees that were supposed to be re-paid down stream by the successful company. The Predator's Ball did exist as real annual social get together where the bankers, brokers, and the borrowing companies got together for a night of partying. The victims - the shareholders - were not invited.

Like every Ponzi scheme at some point reality had to set in and it failed. That is what this book is about. Sure we can learn but apparently we are immune or unable to learn from history because the market over inflated itself and the Nasdaq went to 5000+ a decade later, and we had World Com and Enron. It is also remarkable that after taking so much money he got off with a light jail sentence and a big fine ($500. million) that Millken could pay.

I am an MBA student, and I was recommended to read this book for my corporate control class. This book is very helpful--it reads easy even for a complete layman; however, it contains good explanations for a great deal of basic financial and managerial concepts. Moreover, it is about history. Business is a pretty much empirical science, so knowledge of the past is paramaunt. An additional plus of this book is its perfect English.

This is the story of a genius. The story of an unflinching determination. Unfortunately, this is also the story of Hubris.
For a man who single handedly created half a dozen billionaires, who brought back the owner managers to corporate america, who never expected anybody in his organization to ever work harder than himself, for a man banished for greed,...he had little use of money. Money was of no utility to Michael Milken except as a score. This is a brazen and brilliant narrative, and unlike any you'd come across in the investment world.

You'll either hate him or love him. You won't be indifferent.

I am a lawyer myself, doing Masters degree right now. This book was recomended for M&A class. The reading is amazing. I read it in 4 days (taking into account that English is not my native language). I would not spend a lot of time argueing that this book is too narrative, sketchy etc. The boook is brilliant. If you are not looking for a casebook on M&A, LBO and securities but rather a kind of popular reading on the subject - you will love it.

A year or two ago I heard someone refer to "the infamous Michael Milken," and I had no idea what they were talking about. This book gave me the answer. The Predators' Ball tells about the rise of Drexel Burham Lambert, a second-rate bank that was completely transformed by the arrival of Michael Milken and his plans with junk bonds. Milken broke ground in changing the way banks thought of junk bonds, those bonds that are so poorly rated that they are a substantially greater risk to investors. The flip side to this is that if you take a risk on a junk bond you also have the possibility of making significantly more money, as the rates are much higher.

Previously, other banks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley wouldn't touch junk bonds, as they felt that junk bonds were "below" them. When they saw how much money Drexel Burham Lambert was making, they began to salivate for junk bonds too. Michael Milken pioneered this new change at Drexel Burham and became somewhat of a god-like figure. He made Drexel Burham king of the junk bond market. Milken decided he wanted to move to Southern California, and so he opened a Drexel Burham office there, bringing the best and the brightest in the company along with him. He and his partners would get to work at 4:30am and stay til the wee hours of the night. They were richly compensated for their efforts, and many became multi-millionaires in a very short period of time.

This book gives you terrific insight into the world of Drexel Burham at its apex, when it was at the top of the business world. It tells you about Michael Milken, his intense personality and the loyal following he built. It also explains some of the inconsistencies, conflicts of interest and other problems that brought Drexel Burham to its knees and put Milken in jail.

Even though this book was written many years ago, I learned a lot and enjoyed the story. I highly recommend it.

Intertesting book about the mega-acquisition wave triggered by the creation of the junk-bond market. It will give you some info about the social-working atmosphere at Drexel and those who along with Milken surfed the biggest financial wave in the 80's. It is an easy-reading novel. Don't expect a thorough analysis about the Junk-Bond Market and its creation.

From his humble roots to his 15 minutes of fame to his downfall, this book spans the entire career of the Junk Bond King. Memories of the 87 market crash & the SnL scandals of the 80s came back to me while reading this book. A definite must read for those interested in banking, financial history, american history & especially for business students. I found this book very helpful as background info for many of my undergraduate economics courses.

I recommend another book, like the one called "Payback", for a more sober view.

If you like fixed income/wall-streetesque mover-shaker tales, this one is for you.