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Waffle Street: The Confession and Rehabilitation of a Financier
Laid off from the front lines of a hedge fund in the midst of the financial crisis, Jimmy Adams decides to get an "honest job" for a change. Before he knows what hit him, he finds himself waiting on tables of barflies at a 24-hour diner.
Staffed by a motley crew of cooks and servers, the restaurant provides a slew of comedic experiences as the author waits on man-hungry female patrons, a stonemason who carves his own teeth, and a man seeking refuge from the ghost in his apartment.
In a unique narrative that is as thought-provoking as it is sidesplitting, Waffle Street unravels the enigmas of money, banking, and grits once and for all.
Staffed by a motley crew of cooks and servers, the restaurant provides a slew of comedic experiences as the author waits on man-hungry female patrons, a stonemason who carves his own teeth, and a man seeking refuge from the ghost in his apartment.
In a unique narrative that is as thought-provoking as it is sidesplitting, Waffle Street unravels the enigmas of money, banking, and grits once and for all.
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 2010
13 people are currently reading
368 people want to read
About the author
James Adams
758 books12 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
September 24, 2010
Good heavens, this book was brilliant. So brilliant, in fact, that I ordered twelve cases from the publisher just to have copies on hand to sell to my friends.
October 16, 2016
I found the book decently interesting, but the author was rather condescending both to the reader ("here's what money is") and to the people he interacts with at the Waffle House ("let me randomly talk about the Quran and statistical significance so I can educate you"). In the later parts of the book he addresses more complex financial instruments, but I had a hard time telling where economics ended and his politics began. (If Keynesian economics is so bad, why is it taught so frequently?)
October 18, 2011
This book is a good addition to the genre of do-it-yourself investment books launched by The Wealthy Barber, though it thinks of itself as more than that. Author James Adams, no doubt, imagines he has leveled Keynesian economics with this tome.
He hasn't, but he has given it a good shot. There is real sincerity in this book, sincerity best exemplified by the self-unaware "Articles of Economic Faith" that Adams places at the end of a book ostensibly about his time as a waiter at Waffle House. The best of these faithful articles is Adams' third:
Capitalism operates on principles of freedom and mutual edification for producers, consumers, capital, and labor alike. Ergo, it is a fundamentally moral system of production arrangements.
No, Ayn Rand could not have written that any more sincerely than Adams did.
It's wrong, it relies on a faith in perfect information the market refutes every hour of every day, of course, but it operates as the backbone of Adams' book much the way it operates for other libertarian philosophers: The free market takes everyone's opinion into account and therefore it is the world's fairest arbiter in all moral matters.
To sell this book as something other than an economics rebuttal, the book Adams was truly itching to write, the author makes it ostensibly about his fall from a hedge fund into the world of serving waffles. This is the sort of thin narrative device that enchants philistine purveyors of business literature, but it is a narrative device nonetheless. But for a few casual confessions - such as the author's learning to treat the customers like farm animals to be slopped - the Waffle House anecdotes feel canned; they feel like the tales of a reporter who went into a Waffle House store with the intention of writing a memoir about the experience.
Much of it is charming, though, and surprisingly humble, but the dialogue is manufactured to a point of being almost unreadable.
The book's final irony is one lost on its author: As he marvels at the efficiency, profitability, egalitarianism and economy of all things Waffle House - marvels with a gee-wiz for every line of symmetry he can draw from waffles to economics - he scarfs down food that, because of the imperfect information afforded him as a consumer, likely shortened his lifespan by a few years. How very democratic.
He hasn't, but he has given it a good shot. There is real sincerity in this book, sincerity best exemplified by the self-unaware "Articles of Economic Faith" that Adams places at the end of a book ostensibly about his time as a waiter at Waffle House. The best of these faithful articles is Adams' third:
Capitalism operates on principles of freedom and mutual edification for producers, consumers, capital, and labor alike. Ergo, it is a fundamentally moral system of production arrangements.
No, Ayn Rand could not have written that any more sincerely than Adams did.
It's wrong, it relies on a faith in perfect information the market refutes every hour of every day, of course, but it operates as the backbone of Adams' book much the way it operates for other libertarian philosophers: The free market takes everyone's opinion into account and therefore it is the world's fairest arbiter in all moral matters.
To sell this book as something other than an economics rebuttal, the book Adams was truly itching to write, the author makes it ostensibly about his fall from a hedge fund into the world of serving waffles. This is the sort of thin narrative device that enchants philistine purveyors of business literature, but it is a narrative device nonetheless. But for a few casual confessions - such as the author's learning to treat the customers like farm animals to be slopped - the Waffle House anecdotes feel canned; they feel like the tales of a reporter who went into a Waffle House store with the intention of writing a memoir about the experience.
Much of it is charming, though, and surprisingly humble, but the dialogue is manufactured to a point of being almost unreadable.
The book's final irony is one lost on its author: As he marvels at the efficiency, profitability, egalitarianism and economy of all things Waffle House - marvels with a gee-wiz for every line of symmetry he can draw from waffles to economics - he scarfs down food that, because of the imperfect information afforded him as a consumer, likely shortened his lifespan by a few years. How very democratic.
November 11, 2010
I enjoyed this entertaining personal narrative of a financier who is laid off during the financial crisis and then takes a job at Waffle House. Read my full review here: http://thebluebookcase.blogspot.com/2...
Want to read
August 26, 2010Written by a guy who goes to my church. Looking forward to reading it! :)
January 13, 2025
I read 50% of this book. I stopped reading when he made the remark bout there being people in West Virginia not using toilet paper. Up to that point I was on the fence as to whether he was sincere in his humility and his efforts to truly help people understand more about economics. Once reading that completely unnecessary out of the blue insult, (hello editors?) his hubris became obvious; his stories exploitative, disguised by some gaslit self-deprecation. The minimal financial knowledge shared was not worth it.
December 25, 2021
Brilliant and moving
I don't know how many persons could relate to the economic lessons here but having retired recently from a 40+ year career as a CPA, I could. What I learned from my career as a financial\business advisor is that the best ones possess a keen understanding of human nature and use it to reconcile real life results with academia. Mr. Adams did not learn that skill during his six month hiatus, he already possessed it as evidenced by this book.
I don't know how many persons could relate to the economic lessons here but having retired recently from a 40+ year career as a CPA, I could. What I learned from my career as a financial\business advisor is that the best ones possess a keen understanding of human nature and use it to reconcile real life results with academia. Mr. Adams did not learn that skill during his six month hiatus, he already possessed it as evidenced by this book.
January 11, 2022
I had to check this one out a couple of times, and pay the Bookmobile for the privilege due to my late return. That said I kept coming back until I had finished my plate. James' stories were entertaining and I learned more about economics and deepened my fear of our growing National debt and the inevitable reckoning.
April 4, 2022
A well educated man looses his finance job and works as a waiter at a restaurant, making lots less money. he and his wife sell their nice home and cut back on expences. His desire is to buy the restaurant where he works, but it doesn't happen. He realizes that friends and family are worth more that a hefty paycheck.
June 14, 2017
Interesting book that not only tells one mans story about losing a six figure dream job and becoming a Waffle House waiter but also is a teaching tool about financial theories. Plus if you don't want to learn the financial stuff (or already know it) it's easy to skip because it's separated.
May 18, 2017
Great explanations of basic economics and finance tied in with stories to exemplify. A good read for all levels of understanding of economics.
July 8, 2017
Better than most books about economics - interesting anecdotes. Summarizes some currently unfashionable but still valid economic thinking.
July 20, 2017
nonfiction/memoir. Markedly different than the movie adaptation--I read a little bit but decided I didn't need to finish it (and could pass it to the next person on the library's waitlist instead).
February 16, 2020
A very well written book. If you have any interest in economics, read this book. By using humor the subject is not boring.
July 24, 2023
The author is a good friend of a friend in NC. I loved this book. Simply hilarious while being educational as well.
November 4, 2011
An LDS friend of mine wrote this book, so I will warn you that I am biased in my review. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the memories of the writer; I was less interested in the economics lesson that was imparted. This distinction is probably because I laughed out loud during the Waffle House moments, and the economics side of things was...well, just not funny. Honestly, reading this book is like listening to the writer talk - big vocabulary and all. I did learn a great deal, but I was confused a few times as well. I really think I don't have a business-minded brain, so that's really my problem and not the author's. I did find the analogies helpful in my learning. I also found the explanation for our current recession/economic situation enlightening. I appreciate the lessons that the writer learned and his willingness to poke fun at himself. As I read, I learned right along with him.
September 23, 2014
Waffle Street was kind of like two books meshed into one. On one side Jimmy tells about his story about being a Wall Street financial guy and his transition to working at the Waffle House. It's very much a fish out of water story and I thought it was hilarious. I must have a similar sense of humor because I haven't laughed that hard and that much while reading a book in a long long time. The other side of the book is like an economics lecture. I don't have much background in economics or finances so a fair amount went over my head. Jimmy did make some really interesting comparisons to irresponsible banking and financing and the social damage they cause with the damage that is caused by the people who deal drugs. Overall I loved the book and thought it educational and funny.
September 21, 2016
I heard that this book was great and very inspiring to anyone who lived through the financial crisis. If you have a desire to learn more about Sarbanes Oxley, Say's Law, Free Markets, and a history of banking, then this book is great for you! If these topics bore you and you were looking more about the story of the prior banker working at a Waffle House, then you will be disappointed. Way too much of this book is focused on banking and very little is focused on the life of the author. At times I felt like he was a bit ostentatious and pedantic in his delivery of the subject material. (i.e. Know-It-All)
If you are looking for a feel good story, watch the movie. Though it's poorly acted, it has a much more human feel to it. The book was too robotic.
If you are looking for a feel good story, watch the movie. Though it's poorly acted, it has a much more human feel to it. The book was too robotic.
June 13, 2012
This is not the sort of book I usually read. I picked it up because while I was pretty happy to avoid economics in college, once real life began I wished I knew more about how the financial system works. This book provided the perfect balance between a funny memoir-type story of Jimmy's experience working at Waffle House and a basic primer in economics and why the recent financial crisis happened. Just as my eyes would start to glaze over and I would begin to lose interest in financial principles, the story would shift back to Waffle House and I would be laughing out loud about some of Jimmy's encounters with his patrons. The perfect finance book for a non-economist like me.
December 27, 2011
This is one of those rare books that can make us laugh at the financial nonsense that has characterized the post-2007 financial system.
The author, James Adams, tells us about his riches to rags story going from a Wall Street hedge fund to a Waffle House kitchen. In the process of this radical job transformation, Adams discovers timeless principles about economics and money that he didn't learn on Wall Street.
Adams might have some material here for any enterprising movie producers. An adaption of this story onto a movie screen would be interesting. It would also mean a much welcome break from the angry documentaries produced by folks like Michael Moore and Charles Ferguson.
The author, James Adams, tells us about his riches to rags story going from a Wall Street hedge fund to a Waffle House kitchen. In the process of this radical job transformation, Adams discovers timeless principles about economics and money that he didn't learn on Wall Street.
Adams might have some material here for any enterprising movie producers. An adaption of this story onto a movie screen would be interesting. It would also mean a much welcome break from the angry documentaries produced by folks like Michael Moore and Charles Ferguson.
October 22, 2015
Pros: Waffle Street is humorous and engaging. Having worked in food service, I could appreciate the people Adams met from all walks of life and the experiences he had with grumpy customers. I couldn't put the book down! (I also know the author's wife which made it fun to read.)
Cons: The introduction was too long and the conclusion was too vague. I felt like there needed to be a better flow to the book-- and more concrete themes. I skipped the financial lectures because they did not interest me.
Cons: The introduction was too long and the conclusion was too vague. I felt like there needed to be a better flow to the book-- and more concrete themes. I skipped the financial lectures because they did not interest me.
October 15, 2010
Waffle street is an intelligent, humorous, and overall entertaining introduction to classical economics and the world of late-night breakfast dining at the Waffle House. James Adams, transitions from the abstract world of finance to the physical world of waffles and grits (with at least one close-call) and learns economic laws from experience and a short-order cook that the financial sector has long ignored or forgotten.
December 10, 2013
Providing brilliantly easy talking points for finance to the everyday reader, this book is informative and laugh out loud funny. Although scathing and cringe worthy in his views of mankind, he adds enough of a charming and endearing quality to almost every character keeping you from believing Jimmy Adams is the world's biggest critic and making you wish you could have stood right along side him in his service at the local Waffle House.
April 11, 2016
I watched the movie before reading this book. The movie was interesting and okay, but the book is brilliant. I cannot remember the last time I waded through such a volume of sarcasm, and enjoyed it more. But, what I really enjoyed was the lesson in economics throughout the book. I "read" the audiobook version which just came out last week and isn't even shown on Goodreads yet. I loved the narrator, the downloadable pdf, and found myself finishing it all too quickly.
October 6, 2010
A great review of economics - from a seat at the waffle bar. This book was written by a good friend who, upon finding himself unemployed in the finance sector during the recession, took a job as a server at the local Waffle House. Great stories with memorable take-home economics lessons. Wanna know why I now revile Keynes? Read this to find out.
September 24, 2016
Brilliant
Just a brilliant book that brings the reality of life to the reality of economic theory.
I would recommend this to anyone wanting to understand economics and understand how the financial system operates.
It provides a clear summary of the failings of the systems, but also the opportunities the systems could provide through honesty and hard work.
Just a brilliant book that brings the reality of life to the reality of economic theory.
I would recommend this to anyone wanting to understand economics and understand how the financial system operates.
It provides a clear summary of the failings of the systems, but also the opportunities the systems could provide through honesty and hard work.
April 9, 2011
The author is a good friend of a friend in NC. I loved this book. Simply hilarious while being educational as well.
January 14, 2015
Waffle Street gets my highest recommendation. I give copies to all my clients.
November 1, 2016
Great book with lesson on the economy and banking with stories of Waffle House customers and the difficulty of working 3rd shift in diners on week-ends
November 30, 2016
Interesting true story about one's life. I have many positive thing in this story and make me thinking about my own future. 3 stars for this.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews