In the book, the narrator shares insights from his experience working in a crypto trading firm. He realizes that the law is not just what is written, but also what one can get away with. He discusses how people can misremember their states of mind to manipulate the legal system. Bribery and corruption have become ingrained in our criminal justice process. The narrator acknowledges that he knew about this trade-off but is still shocked by its effects. He highlights the unequal playing field between prosecutors and the defense, leading to alarming conviction statistics.
Lewis got incredible access to Sam Bankman-Fried, the billionaire behind the spectacular FTX fraud. His book is a bestseller, but some critics say he went too easy on S.B.F. Lewis tells us why the critics are wrong — and what it’s like to watch your book get turned into a courtroom drama.
- RESOURCES:
- Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon, by Michael Lewis (2023).
- "Column: In Michael Lewis, Sam Bankman-Fried Found His Last and Most Willing Victim," by Michael Hiltzik (Los Angeles Times, 2023).
- "Even Michael Lewis Can’t Make a Hero Out of Sam Bankman-Fried," by Jennifer Szalai (The New York Times, 2023).
- "Michael Lewis Goes Close on Sam Bankman-Fried — Maybe Too Close," by James Ledbetter (The Washington Post, 2023).
- "What You Won’t Learn From Michael Lewis’ Book on FTX Could Fill Another Book," by Julia M. Klein (Los Angeles Times, 2023).
- "Michael Lewis’s Big Contrarian Bet," by Gideon Lewis-Kraus (The New Yorker, 2023).
- "He-Said, They-Said," by John Lanchester (London Review of Books, 2023).
- "Downfall of the Crypto King," by Jesse Armstrong (The Times Literary Supplement, 2023).
- "FTX Debtors vs. Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried," in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (2023).
- Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses: Eighth Edition, by Richard C. Pilger (2017).
- "Pay Candidates to Drop Out? That Should Be Legal," by Stephen L. Carter (Bloomberg, 2016).
- "The History of the Term 'Effective Altruism,'" by William MacAskill (Effective Altruism Forum, 2014).