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Straight to Hell: True Tales of Deviance, Debauchery, and Billion-Dollar Deals
“Some chick asked me what I would do with 10 million bucks. I told her I’d wonder where the rest of my money went.”—@GSElevator
Darkly funny, remarkably revealing, and utterly unapologetic, Straight to Hell is John LeFevre’s own account of his adventures as a globe-conquering investment banker whose career spanned New York, London, and Hong Kong. Sitting above the “Chinese Wall” separating investment banking and sales and trading, in a senior position with a unique vantage point, LeFevre did billion-dollar deals with sovereign borrowers, prestigious multinational corporations, and every bank on Wall Street, not to mention Chinese tycoons and Indonesian thugs, and shot up the ranks to be one of the most prolific bond syndicate managers in Asia. He also got banned from the Four Seasons, where he was living at the time, totaled his brand-new Maserati, and indulged in riotous debauchery on and off the trading floor.
Hundreds of thousands follow LeFevre’s @GSElevator Twitter account; Goldman Sachs launched an internal investigation into his tweets, and when his true identity was revealed, it created a national media firestorm—but that was only part of the story. Straight to Hell delves deep inside an industry that is both envied and reviled, taking you from the training programs, trading floors, and roadshows to private planes, shady deals, and after-hours overindulgence. This is not a moralistic tale of redemption. Full of shocking rule-breaking, frat-boyish antics, and win-at-all-cost schemes, Straight to Hell brazenly pulls back the curtain on the deviant and absolutely excessive world of finance. Also included are some of the best lines from @GSElevator, created and curated by LeFevre.
Prepare yourself and buckle up, because this is one of the most entertaining and eye-opening books ever written about the world of finance.
Darkly funny, remarkably revealing, and utterly unapologetic, Straight to Hell is John LeFevre’s own account of his adventures as a globe-conquering investment banker whose career spanned New York, London, and Hong Kong. Sitting above the “Chinese Wall” separating investment banking and sales and trading, in a senior position with a unique vantage point, LeFevre did billion-dollar deals with sovereign borrowers, prestigious multinational corporations, and every bank on Wall Street, not to mention Chinese tycoons and Indonesian thugs, and shot up the ranks to be one of the most prolific bond syndicate managers in Asia. He also got banned from the Four Seasons, where he was living at the time, totaled his brand-new Maserati, and indulged in riotous debauchery on and off the trading floor.
Hundreds of thousands follow LeFevre’s @GSElevator Twitter account; Goldman Sachs launched an internal investigation into his tweets, and when his true identity was revealed, it created a national media firestorm—but that was only part of the story. Straight to Hell delves deep inside an industry that is both envied and reviled, taking you from the training programs, trading floors, and roadshows to private planes, shady deals, and after-hours overindulgence. This is not a moralistic tale of redemption. Full of shocking rule-breaking, frat-boyish antics, and win-at-all-cost schemes, Straight to Hell brazenly pulls back the curtain on the deviant and absolutely excessive world of finance. Also included are some of the best lines from @GSElevator, created and curated by LeFevre.
Prepare yourself and buckle up, because this is one of the most entertaining and eye-opening books ever written about the world of finance.
336 pages, Paperback
First published November 4, 2014
400 people are currently reading
3287 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 328 reviews
July 18, 2015
I read frequently. I have a read many bad books. If I have ever finished a book that I detested more than "Straight to Hell," the experience has (thankfully) been suppressed. Why did I read the entire book? The genre of high-finance misdeeds is of interest, and I have read most of the key works--both the comparatively high-minded ("Barbarians at the Gate," "Den of Thieves," "The Smartest Guys in the Room," "Liar's Poker" etc.) and the relatively less so (e.g. "The Wolf of Wall Street"). I breezed through "Straight to Hell" in one sitting, as there really isn't much to it. The whole thing could have easily been pared down to a magazine article. The impetus to finish stemmed from some nagging curiousness about whether the would get any better. Spoiler alert: it doesn't. The only remarkable thing about "Straight to Hell" is that it manages to simultaneously be both so revolting and so...boring.
The tedium starts straightaway, with LeFevre lovingly detailing his spirited misbehavior at Choate (he covertly kept a mini-fridge in his dorm-room!). There is a lot of reminiscing about people getting locked out of rooms naked. Actually, that sort of thing makes up the bulk of the whole book. The question of why any person of reasonable intelligence would possibly find this stuff interesting hangs like a thick blanket of smog over the entire desultory proceedings.
As befits a finance expert, LeFevre loves numbers. His entire account is padded with them, although not in a way that is at all meaningful. Every lovingly-recounted episode of debauchery (i.e. every single chapter) is rife with quotidian statistics, primarily about how many bottles of wine were drunk, how many lines of cocaine snorted, and how long particular international flights last, along with an excruciating amount of detail about what specific times LeFevre went to bed and then got up to go to work. I had to go back and verify that Atlantic Monthly Press actually published this dreck. Sadly--they did.
LeFevre manages to convey all the sordid details in an unwavering tone of smug self-satisfaction. It is really quite impressive that he was able to crank-out this whole pointless tome while avoiding any hint of reflection, insight or perspective. The entire financial crisis flies past in a few paragraphs. It is apparently self-evident to LeFevre that the crisis was caused not by people like himself but by...Barney Frank. The only reason the recession seems to register with LeFevre at all is that it results in a decreased workload for him and his girlfriend. As a result, they start to spend more time together and realize that they do not even like each other. This is all dispensed with rather quickly, however, so that the counting of bottles and lines can resume.
Ultimately, the conflict that "Straight to Hell" inspires between indifference and disgust is definitively resolved with "loathsome" carrying the day. The final chapter is a set piece in which LeFevre engages in a sex tourism jaunt in the Philippines with a large cohort of investment banking colleagues, co-workers and clients. LeFevre recalls with evident fondness how much fun he had degrading sex workers, who he incessantly refers to as "Love Monkeys." The entire repellant stew of misanthropy, misogyny and unalloyed racism is whipped into a froth. If you are unfamiliar with the mechanics of "Monkey Love Bowling," LeFevre cheerfully explains how the pros do it: grease up the bar so that naked women can be "bowled" into a set-up of empty bottles. Thus concludes a volume that began with the author unaccountably dedicating his literary endeavor to...his wife and children. Thanks dad.
Despite the dismal paucity of writing talent on display, at least LeFevre knows not to bury the lead. From the prologue: "My objective is to unapologetically showcase the true soul of Wall St...No epiphanies. No apologies. No f**ks given."
As regards LeFevre-- read "Straight to Hell"...and you won't give a f**k about him either.
The tedium starts straightaway, with LeFevre lovingly detailing his spirited misbehavior at Choate (he covertly kept a mini-fridge in his dorm-room!). There is a lot of reminiscing about people getting locked out of rooms naked. Actually, that sort of thing makes up the bulk of the whole book. The question of why any person of reasonable intelligence would possibly find this stuff interesting hangs like a thick blanket of smog over the entire desultory proceedings.
As befits a finance expert, LeFevre loves numbers. His entire account is padded with them, although not in a way that is at all meaningful. Every lovingly-recounted episode of debauchery (i.e. every single chapter) is rife with quotidian statistics, primarily about how many bottles of wine were drunk, how many lines of cocaine snorted, and how long particular international flights last, along with an excruciating amount of detail about what specific times LeFevre went to bed and then got up to go to work. I had to go back and verify that Atlantic Monthly Press actually published this dreck. Sadly--they did.
LeFevre manages to convey all the sordid details in an unwavering tone of smug self-satisfaction. It is really quite impressive that he was able to crank-out this whole pointless tome while avoiding any hint of reflection, insight or perspective. The entire financial crisis flies past in a few paragraphs. It is apparently self-evident to LeFevre that the crisis was caused not by people like himself but by...Barney Frank. The only reason the recession seems to register with LeFevre at all is that it results in a decreased workload for him and his girlfriend. As a result, they start to spend more time together and realize that they do not even like each other. This is all dispensed with rather quickly, however, so that the counting of bottles and lines can resume.
Ultimately, the conflict that "Straight to Hell" inspires between indifference and disgust is definitively resolved with "loathsome" carrying the day. The final chapter is a set piece in which LeFevre engages in a sex tourism jaunt in the Philippines with a large cohort of investment banking colleagues, co-workers and clients. LeFevre recalls with evident fondness how much fun he had degrading sex workers, who he incessantly refers to as "Love Monkeys." The entire repellant stew of misanthropy, misogyny and unalloyed racism is whipped into a froth. If you are unfamiliar with the mechanics of "Monkey Love Bowling," LeFevre cheerfully explains how the pros do it: grease up the bar so that naked women can be "bowled" into a set-up of empty bottles. Thus concludes a volume that began with the author unaccountably dedicating his literary endeavor to...his wife and children. Thanks dad.
Despite the dismal paucity of writing talent on display, at least LeFevre knows not to bury the lead. From the prologue: "My objective is to unapologetically showcase the true soul of Wall St...No epiphanies. No apologies. No f**ks given."
As regards LeFevre-- read "Straight to Hell"...and you won't give a f**k about him either.
September 9, 2015
I used to follow @GSElevator because I thought it was meant to be a parody of the banking culture. After reading LeFevre's book however, I realize his twitter feed was more aspirational than satirical. And that makes me so, so sad.
I read a review that said this book shone a light on the bro-y, chest thumping culture of excess at investment banks. I'm not sure it's "shining a light" so much as revealing an actual character who IS the rotten core of such a culture.
I worked in banking - in leveraged finance at JP Morgan - in a related group to the one described by LeFevre. And prior to that I worked at Goldman Sachs (I was not in investment banking at GS, but worked at Risk Management so had more dealings with the Trading side of the bank) and rode those elevators many times. I am happy to say, I never once encountered such an utter d-bag in my entire 4 years there. Yes, bankers are arrogant and full of themselves. There is a fair amount of hard drinking and bullsh*ttery that goes on (I do remember being invited to go hang with my colleagues at a strip club). But I never met anyone so despicably racist (he disparages Asians constantly), misogynistic (I don't even want to repeat how he speaks about women - his own girlfriend included) and so up their own @ss.
I found myself actually having to pause reading occasionally because I was becoming quite nauseated. There was a particular scene that made me feel tears of anger - when he starts throwing money in a mall in the Philippines and watching people scrambling around trying to pick up what would have equated to a princely sum for many of them. He sneeringly describes how funny everyone looks doing that and how great he feels (not because he is giving money away to those more needy, but because there was a lot more there THAT came from).
He talks about how all his colleagues were in on this way of life - doing cocaine, sleeping with prostitutes, cheating on their wives and girlfriends, throwing away huge sums of money gambling or crashing their Ferraris after drunken insomniac joy rides. Maybe there are people like this. Maybe EVERYONE is like this and I just never noticed in those years. But I don't think so. I think the money generated by those in this line of work allows people to really indulge their d-bag sides, but I also think this group is in the diminishing minority. You simply work too hard and too many hours to be able to sustain this kind of nonsense.
Anyway, I am glad he wrote such a "tell all" book because at least now people should know NOT to ever, ever actually HIRE this man to work at their company. He is apparently retired and "spending time with his family." Well, his family obviously has quite a tolerance for some serious @sshattery.
I read a review that said this book shone a light on the bro-y, chest thumping culture of excess at investment banks. I'm not sure it's "shining a light" so much as revealing an actual character who IS the rotten core of such a culture.
I worked in banking - in leveraged finance at JP Morgan - in a related group to the one described by LeFevre. And prior to that I worked at Goldman Sachs (I was not in investment banking at GS, but worked at Risk Management so had more dealings with the Trading side of the bank) and rode those elevators many times. I am happy to say, I never once encountered such an utter d-bag in my entire 4 years there. Yes, bankers are arrogant and full of themselves. There is a fair amount of hard drinking and bullsh*ttery that goes on (I do remember being invited to go hang with my colleagues at a strip club). But I never met anyone so despicably racist (he disparages Asians constantly), misogynistic (I don't even want to repeat how he speaks about women - his own girlfriend included) and so up their own @ss.
I found myself actually having to pause reading occasionally because I was becoming quite nauseated. There was a particular scene that made me feel tears of anger - when he starts throwing money in a mall in the Philippines and watching people scrambling around trying to pick up what would have equated to a princely sum for many of them. He sneeringly describes how funny everyone looks doing that and how great he feels (not because he is giving money away to those more needy, but because there was a lot more there THAT came from).
He talks about how all his colleagues were in on this way of life - doing cocaine, sleeping with prostitutes, cheating on their wives and girlfriends, throwing away huge sums of money gambling or crashing their Ferraris after drunken insomniac joy rides. Maybe there are people like this. Maybe EVERYONE is like this and I just never noticed in those years. But I don't think so. I think the money generated by those in this line of work allows people to really indulge their d-bag sides, but I also think this group is in the diminishing minority. You simply work too hard and too many hours to be able to sustain this kind of nonsense.
Anyway, I am glad he wrote such a "tell all" book because at least now people should know NOT to ever, ever actually HIRE this man to work at their company. He is apparently retired and "spending time with his family." Well, his family obviously has quite a tolerance for some serious @sshattery.
November 11, 2015
Funniest book about Wall Street since Liar's Poker. Easy five stars. The negative reviews seem to concentrate on a few points.
LeFever is a vile person. (This is true)
Book is a collection of stories, not a true memoir. (Yeah, so?)
Book is full of filth and garbage. (True, but so is Wall Street. Can't write about it accurately otherwise).
Book lacks morality. (Him trying to pretend that he cares would be pointless.)
Book lacks substance. (Like most things on Wall Street, including the traders' trophy wives).
In all, this book is a perfect microcosm of Wall Street. This review was written by an EX-hedge fund employee. These two sentences are connected.
LeFever is a vile person. (This is true)
Book is a collection of stories, not a true memoir. (Yeah, so?)
Book is full of filth and garbage. (True, but so is Wall Street. Can't write about it accurately otherwise).
Book lacks morality. (Him trying to pretend that he cares would be pointless.)
Book lacks substance. (Like most things on Wall Street, including the traders' trophy wives).
In all, this book is a perfect microcosm of Wall Street. This review was written by an EX-hedge fund employee. These two sentences are connected.
July 8, 2023
Apparently this book grew out of a twitter feed of pithy comments supposedly overheard in Goldman Sachs elevators. Several of these tweets start each chapter and they offer wit and insight. Unfortunately the rest of the text does not. One has to find blackout intoxication humorous to consider this material funny. It is all very sad and juvenile.
The stories might appeal to someone with arrested development or to soul-less types with no empathy for fellow humans.
The stories might appeal to someone with arrested development or to soul-less types with no empathy for fellow humans.
August 18, 2020
Picture that one guy you work with, the douche-bro who can’t get enough of his own inane stories. That’s what this book is. I can handle literature with a fair dose of egocentrism, but there needs to be more. Every story regaled doesn’t really have a point. I rolled my eyes countless times as I read about how the author played a prank and switched the shoes a colleague ordered with some clogs, only to have the real shoes disappear. Frankly, the entire attitude of the author made me want to punch him in the face, from name-dropping people only to try and have the effect of either making the reader feel inferior if they didn’t know who they were or to impress those readers that are familiar with them. I’ve read my share of shitty biographies, often filled with short, pointless stories. One that comes to mind is “People I Want to Punch in the Throat.” But that’s harmless. Frivolous, yes, but ultimately, the writer is aware that their world is contained to small-town America. Ironically, John LeFevre is the one I want to punch in the throat, with his disregard for others, his inflated ego, and his 1% attitude. If this is reflective of the other Wall Street workers’ attitudes, then I think we should go occupy again.
August 6, 2015
I've been postponing this review for a few weeks already. I just don't like writing negative reviews, full stop. I never have enough to say. In a nutshell: while there are a few funny moments, this book has no substance.
I went along with it because it was on audio and it was easy to switch off, but my experience was less than satisfactory. And it had nothing to do with the narrator, who did a very good job.
First of all, for a memoir there are hardly any timelines, and mostly it reads like a collection of crazy stories from the author's past in Hong Kong. Not only it's a non-linear plot, it's mostly repeated fluff: dirty deals, waste of corporate expenses on stupid high end drinks and food in the restaurants, pranks in the style of private school boys and lots and lots of coke and women.
The style is sardonic, condescending, misogynistic and really tiring. You don't really get anything substantial from the main character's life or his personality, there is no sense of his co-workers or anything beyond the topics I mentioned above. I giggled in few places, but other than that I was unimpressed.
Listen at your own peril.
I went along with it because it was on audio and it was easy to switch off, but my experience was less than satisfactory. And it had nothing to do with the narrator, who did a very good job.
First of all, for a memoir there are hardly any timelines, and mostly it reads like a collection of crazy stories from the author's past in Hong Kong. Not only it's a non-linear plot, it's mostly repeated fluff: dirty deals, waste of corporate expenses on stupid high end drinks and food in the restaurants, pranks in the style of private school boys and lots and lots of coke and women.
The style is sardonic, condescending, misogynistic and really tiring. You don't really get anything substantial from the main character's life or his personality, there is no sense of his co-workers or anything beyond the topics I mentioned above. I giggled in few places, but other than that I was unimpressed.
Listen at your own peril.
January 11, 2016
This is Liar's Poker without nuance or substance or morality, or a more pretentious Wolf of Wall Street.
The stories are entertaining, some more than others; but not as good as the tweets. Toward the end it became formulaic- the troubled bond deal, binge drinking, drugs, prostitutes and the bottomless expense account are present in all the stories, and it was mildly disappointing that things didn't get crazier given the conditions.
These stories are not different from other, ordinary-people drunken stories save the bond deal and the money excess. That didn't really make it interesting for me. All the characters are douchebags. This book is probably the equivalent of Fifty Shades of Gray for men.
The stories are entertaining, some more than others; but not as good as the tweets. Toward the end it became formulaic- the troubled bond deal, binge drinking, drugs, prostitutes and the bottomless expense account are present in all the stories, and it was mildly disappointing that things didn't get crazier given the conditions.
These stories are not different from other, ordinary-people drunken stories save the bond deal and the money excess. That didn't really make it interesting for me. All the characters are douchebags. This book is probably the equivalent of Fifty Shades of Gray for men.
August 19, 2015
Ugh. I was about to quit this after three chapters but gave this guy the benefit of the doubt and read a few more. Shouldn’t have. You can tell from the outset it’s just another dime a dozen “I went to boarding school and then worked on Wall Street and the normals are just going to love reading my wild and crazy stories about the money I made and adventures I had.”
It’s been done bro. And these stories just aren’t that funny. OMG you switched out a guy’s clothes in his suitcase with some papers and ruined his whole vacation? You so hilarious!
It’s possible that the stories get better later in the book but I didn’t care to find out.
Snore.
It’s been done bro. And these stories just aren’t that funny. OMG you switched out a guy’s clothes in his suitcase with some papers and ruined his whole vacation? You so hilarious!
It’s possible that the stories get better later in the book but I didn’t care to find out.
Snore.
September 15, 2024
A completely obnoxious, mostly shocking, but at times laugh-out-loud funny insight into the utterly unhinged world of finance.
Spoiler: elitism, mysogyny, racism, and ableism are omnipresent.
Spoiler: elitism, mysogyny, racism, and ableism are omnipresent.
November 5, 2023
The dust jacket does not mention that reading this book is what made Bernie Sanders a socialist, but it wouldn't be a surprise if it did. The tales of how the 21st century banking industry functions would be enough to make Adam Smith rethink his advocacy of capitalism. Alert to Conservatives: You were right; there is a massive re-distribution of income going on. But it's not Barack Obama funneling your tax dollars to food stamp recipients and Head Start students. If Mr. LeFevre's tome is to be believed, it is the banking industry shaving points off your pension funds and 401(k)s for the benefit of Asian prostitutes and Latin American cocaine cartels.
That being said, if you're a major buzzkill like myself, reading deep economic and political meanings into this book; you're totally missing the point. Many of Mr. LeFevre's stories are hilarious, if only for letting us know that the Best and the Brightest are just as shallow and foolish as the rest of us. If nothing else, you will chuckle when thinking that there are now dozens, if not hundreds, of guys around the world who now suspect they are married to The Warden.
That being said, if you're a major buzzkill like myself, reading deep economic and political meanings into this book; you're totally missing the point. Many of Mr. LeFevre's stories are hilarious, if only for letting us know that the Best and the Brightest are just as shallow and foolish as the rest of us. If nothing else, you will chuckle when thinking that there are now dozens, if not hundreds, of guys around the world who now suspect they are married to The Warden.
October 16, 2016
This gets 3 stars from me because while I give it 5 based on the fact I couldn't put it down and thought about it all the time, the content matter only gets 1 or 2 stars. It was/is beyond disturbing to learn about the disgusting frat boy behaviour which exists among executives making 7 figures. Worse, I've stayed in one of the Asian hotels referenced and seen my share of the surface view, and is outrageous to hear accounts of what happens behind closed doors after the women are asked to leave. In addition, the "pranks" which have dire consequences for colleague's lives are hardly funny. It rocks the core of my sense of right and wrong that these people live posh lives and treat others with so little respect.
July 18, 2015
When I picked this up I thought it was along the lines of Michael Lewis' "Liars Poker" - and the author claims influence from that book. It's more like "The Wolf of Wall Street" and is just plain garbage. Yes, there are some funny moments in the book, but not worth having to crawl through the filth and garbage to get to it. Not only would I not recommend this book to anybody, I'm embarrassed to say I've read it. What a waste of time.
July 26, 2017
What i expected
I wanted international transaction war stories and I got them. The airplane GI distress made me cry laughing. Some of the other bro culture stuff was a little boring, but all in all it was very entertaining.
I wanted international transaction war stories and I got them. The airplane GI distress made me cry laughing. Some of the other bro culture stuff was a little boring, but all in all it was very entertaining.
July 21, 2015
Pure garbage.
May 16, 2016
I'm not sure what to think about this book. I freely admit that many of the stories are funny as hell, but immediately have to contrast that with the fact that it's another detailed look into the decadent lives of real life Patrick Bateman's. In the epilogue, you're told that it was meant to expose how corrupt the culture was, but also that the author was not sorry for partaking in any of it. So what you get is a memoir about how the banking class still loves cocaine, hookers, and booze, looks down with absolute, genuine distain on anyone that isn't them or insanely wealthy, and are all basically terrible human beings. When you're reading this and laughing at certain parts, you'll come to a section where you abruptly stop, because the rant about the peasants are aimed at you, not "them". As a case study, it's interesting enough. But, you won't learn anything new or enlightening. The rich of the world are untouchable, get away with whatever they want, hate you, and don't care. And then they write a book about it.
December 14, 2015
A pretty well written collection of standalone outrageous, funny, autobiographical stories. Some things shouldn't be funny, yet they are pretty hilarious at times when you read them. Probably because of stupid things you or I did as well as ambitious young people in earlier career phases. Then you think about it some more, and realize how, at its core, these stories illustrate behaviors and attitudes that create or fuel pain in this world -- and it makes you wonder about the life journey of the writer that leads him to write that he feels 'unapologetic' (quoted from the epilogue) about his actions.
Read
August 27, 2015The only difference between this and the movie the wolf of wall street is the writer is no Martin Scorsese. it has its rofl moments but it will make you feel guilty about reading such deplorable acts of irresponsibility, misogyny, greed. it does cover the writers forays into seven deadly sins. it lacks empathy for the entire human race but does give a good glimpse in the dark side of investment banking.
November 23, 2015
Often in tears I was laughing so hard
October 28, 2018
This book is lit
March 6, 2023
Really fun book on LeFevre's debauchery in the 1990's working in Hong Kong.
August 2, 2023
Hilarisch. Californication/entourage setting in investment banking.
May 9, 2024
didn't finish it, was kinda slow :P
February 4, 2018
‘Straight to Hell’ is a book that was conceived by the (at the time) anonymous creator of GSElevator (GoldmanSachs) https://twitter.com/gselevator?lang=en, a twitter page which shamelessly hosted a voyeuristic look into the real world of wall of Wall Street finance.
Vile, puerile, inane yet wickedly sardonic; Lefevre’s Wall Street banker’s memoir, if true, would indeed grant him a first class seat on the hell express train. Good news is, he definitely won’t be alone on the journey.
Vile, puerile, inane yet wickedly sardonic; Lefevre’s Wall Street banker’s memoir, if true, would indeed grant him a first class seat on the hell express train. Good news is, he definitely won’t be alone on the journey.
Read
August 2, 2024Ultimately I have no way of rating this one. I just can’t manage to wrap my head around how disgusting certain actions were. My brain refuses to believe that people could ever be this unashamedly despicable.
April 30, 2023
Listen man this is like the man’s version of Fifty Shades of Grey. Really fun tbh
July 27, 2018
Straight to Hell, yes literally it is. John LeFevre bond syndicate manager, put down life he had while he was in Hong Kong. Time filled with drugs, alchohol, sex and some serious debauchery.
When I looked, what others have felt about the the book, it wasn't that impressive. Many readers felt book lack content, certainly if you are looking for lessons this not for you. Many might have put off with pompous way writer has depicted himself, me too. But, this give you bit of testimony how a one end of life can be so much contrast another. While certain people in world long for 1-2 dollar earning a day to fill stomach of their entire family, yet somewhere in world one can spend more than 10000 dollars in lustrous bar a single night, and then look out for hook, who is trying save some for her poverty ravaged family back in Philippine village. World is not fair, neither is life.
I didn't hate the book, it certainly lacked content, but writer has some good prose. Can be fair time pass reading!
When I looked, what others have felt about the the book, it wasn't that impressive. Many readers felt book lack content, certainly if you are looking for lessons this not for you. Many might have put off with pompous way writer has depicted himself, me too. But, this give you bit of testimony how a one end of life can be so much contrast another. While certain people in world long for 1-2 dollar earning a day to fill stomach of their entire family, yet somewhere in world one can spend more than 10000 dollars in lustrous bar a single night, and then look out for hook, who is trying save some for her poverty ravaged family back in Philippine village. World is not fair, neither is life.
I didn't hate the book, it certainly lacked content, but writer has some good prose. Can be fair time pass reading!
June 6, 2023
OK, so it's funny in places. One laughs at times, then at once feels ashamed for doing so.
Here you have a distasteful collection of vulgar comments and memories. I used to detest arrogant narcissists like this author in high school and college -- and since then I've made it one of my life's missions to avoid them all.
Something detestable on every page .
April 26, 2020
Mommas don't let your babies grow up to be soulless..
I came upon this book by accident on kindle unlimited and thought it might be interesting after reading Wolf on Wallstreet. If this is still what the banking culture is like, then we as a society deserve the pandemic we're in right now. I have never seen such a blatant disregard for humanity. Just because these bankers have money, doesn't mean they are better then the people they use and take advantage of while working in Hong Kong, or anywhere else in Asia. Apparently you have to be a sociopath or completely devoid of a soul, or empathy to be an investment banker or work in that industry. I would love to know what their parents did so wrong, raising these guys that they are so entitled and just generally abhorrent and loathsome individuals. I hope all of them now have daughters and can recognize what they did to these women could easily be done to their daughter. I thought maybe at the the end of the book there would be some redemptive value. Nope he pretty much says, "I remain unapologetic." Well, I guess people only understand pain when they experience it first hand. The only difference between them and the maids or bar girls or any of the various nameless people they exploited is where you were born. There's nothing that makes them better then these people they mocked, took advantage of and humiliated. And maybe in a sense, they're then these people, because maybe they are actually decent human beings. No wonder why Americans, in particular, are viewed so poorly throughout the world. You know what they say about karma. And also, if you're a wife or mom of one of these guys described in the book, I am sorry for you. I was left with such a sense of disgust and general sadness for what we are as a society. This book was not what I thought it would be. If you'll excuse me, I need to go shower and attempt to wash the absolute feeling of revulsion off my soul. Read this if you want to see entitled, spoiled, men exploit everyone they feel superior to. No thank you, there's enough of that in the news. And mommas.. try to raise honorable men with a conscience.
I came upon this book by accident on kindle unlimited and thought it might be interesting after reading Wolf on Wallstreet. If this is still what the banking culture is like, then we as a society deserve the pandemic we're in right now. I have never seen such a blatant disregard for humanity. Just because these bankers have money, doesn't mean they are better then the people they use and take advantage of while working in Hong Kong, or anywhere else in Asia. Apparently you have to be a sociopath or completely devoid of a soul, or empathy to be an investment banker or work in that industry. I would love to know what their parents did so wrong, raising these guys that they are so entitled and just generally abhorrent and loathsome individuals. I hope all of them now have daughters and can recognize what they did to these women could easily be done to their daughter. I thought maybe at the the end of the book there would be some redemptive value. Nope he pretty much says, "I remain unapologetic." Well, I guess people only understand pain when they experience it first hand. The only difference between them and the maids or bar girls or any of the various nameless people they exploited is where you were born. There's nothing that makes them better then these people they mocked, took advantage of and humiliated. And maybe in a sense, they're then these people, because maybe they are actually decent human beings. No wonder why Americans, in particular, are viewed so poorly throughout the world. You know what they say about karma. And also, if you're a wife or mom of one of these guys described in the book, I am sorry for you. I was left with such a sense of disgust and general sadness for what we are as a society. This book was not what I thought it would be. If you'll excuse me, I need to go shower and attempt to wash the absolute feeling of revulsion off my soul. Read this if you want to see entitled, spoiled, men exploit everyone they feel superior to. No thank you, there's enough of that in the news. And mommas.. try to raise honorable men with a conscience.
July 21, 2021
That's what you get, I don't understand many of the bad reviews.
The book by itself brings the most childish, egocentric and selfish actions/ thoughts that I could think of. The Twitter has already this vibe, it shouldn't be a surprise for anyone.
Besides, being extremely "incorrect" by today's morale, it's the banking reality (apparently hehe). The book it's just a reflex of a greedy mindset.
LeFevre did a great job bringing this reality for everyone and hopefully it updates our reality perception.
The book by itself brings the most childish, egocentric and selfish actions/ thoughts that I could think of. The Twitter has already this vibe, it shouldn't be a surprise for anyone.
Besides, being extremely "incorrect" by today's morale, it's the banking reality (apparently hehe). The book it's just a reflex of a greedy mindset.
LeFevre did a great job bringing this reality for everyone and hopefully it updates our reality perception.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2015
John LeFevre's Straight to Hell: True Tales of Deviance, Debauchery, and Billion-Dollar Deals is a saucy, racy "Fifty Shades of Grey" type of novel focused on the excesses in the life of a capital markets banker who worked in Asia in the decade before the financial crisis and during it. As the author states in the book, most of the excesses described around hookers, drugs, alcohol and partying had ceased happening in the US after the end of the dot-com era but they continued in the more lax regulatory environment in Asia.
The book is insightful for someone who is not aware of the culture on Wall Street. For me however, having worked at a top-tier firm (it is mentioned in the book) during the same decade, it reminded me of some of the colorful characters I had to deal with. For an outsider it is important to remember that the book is not at all representative of the vast majority of hard working professional in that industry, although it does do a good job of lampooning the mavericks. All-in-all an accurate portrait of those mavericks who led the lives described in the book. The good news is that the financial crisis has reigned in some of this wild behavior even in Asia but, if history is a guide, there will always be a set of individuals in some privileged segment of society who have the financial means and tendencies to pursue the bacchanalia and hedonism that has been around since the time of the Romans.
The book is insightful for someone who is not aware of the culture on Wall Street. For me however, having worked at a top-tier firm (it is mentioned in the book) during the same decade, it reminded me of some of the colorful characters I had to deal with. For an outsider it is important to remember that the book is not at all representative of the vast majority of hard working professional in that industry, although it does do a good job of lampooning the mavericks. All-in-all an accurate portrait of those mavericks who led the lives described in the book. The good news is that the financial crisis has reigned in some of this wild behavior even in Asia but, if history is a guide, there will always be a set of individuals in some privileged segment of society who have the financial means and tendencies to pursue the bacchanalia and hedonism that has been around since the time of the Romans.
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