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Risk: Living on the Edge
Risk-taker Michael E. Tennenbaum has contributed mightily to American financial institutions, business, and society. A financier, adventurer, and philanthropist, in his debut book, RISK: Living on the Edge, he delivers intriguing insider details on how “impossible” deals are completed, along with an inspiring guide to applying risk-taking successfully to your business and personal life.
Tennenbaum takes us behind the scenes at Bear Stearns, illuminating the end of that great American success story as never before disclosed. He imparts insights from investment banking, risk arbitrage, and options; how he employed risk to achieve competitive advantage after leaving Bear Stearns and starting his own firms; the inner machinations of his high-stakes deals; and the backstory to innovations he created.
A daredevil who feeds sharks and swims with humpback whales, who has lifted off from an aircraft carrier, descended in a nuclear submarine, trained with the Navy SEALs, and taken the Olympic bobsled run in Innsbruck, and driven an elephant in the Mekong River, Tennenbaum describes his theory of risk as the compelling force of some people’s lives, and the trait that drives visionary pioneers toward their unending accomplishments.
He shares strategies on applying boldness and challenging the status quo to seize opportunities, face struggles that pay off, manage mistakes, and give back to one’s community. Reading RISK, you get to walk in the shoes of an unpredictable, very successful self-made man who follows his own path. Applying personal tales of pushing limits and his experiences with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Smithsonian Institution, Harvard Business School, and the Joffrey Ballet, among other firms and cultural institutions, he demonstrates how to reach greater heights of performance, achievement, and contentment.
RISK is a fascinating look at financial industry management, non-profits and how to help them grow, civic projects and how to combat inertia, and one man’s craving to move the needle of social progress.
Tennenbaum takes us behind the scenes at Bear Stearns, illuminating the end of that great American success story as never before disclosed. He imparts insights from investment banking, risk arbitrage, and options; how he employed risk to achieve competitive advantage after leaving Bear Stearns and starting his own firms; the inner machinations of his high-stakes deals; and the backstory to innovations he created.
A daredevil who feeds sharks and swims with humpback whales, who has lifted off from an aircraft carrier, descended in a nuclear submarine, trained with the Navy SEALs, and taken the Olympic bobsled run in Innsbruck, and driven an elephant in the Mekong River, Tennenbaum describes his theory of risk as the compelling force of some people’s lives, and the trait that drives visionary pioneers toward their unending accomplishments.
He shares strategies on applying boldness and challenging the status quo to seize opportunities, face struggles that pay off, manage mistakes, and give back to one’s community. Reading RISK, you get to walk in the shoes of an unpredictable, very successful self-made man who follows his own path. Applying personal tales of pushing limits and his experiences with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Smithsonian Institution, Harvard Business School, and the Joffrey Ballet, among other firms and cultural institutions, he demonstrates how to reach greater heights of performance, achievement, and contentment.
RISK is a fascinating look at financial industry management, non-profits and how to help them grow, civic projects and how to combat inertia, and one man’s craving to move the needle of social progress.
360 pages, Hardcover
Published August 13, 2019
15 people are currently reading
1754 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 23, 2019
I received this book through a Goodreads Giveaway. Honestly, I thought the blurb sounded pretty neat, and I was looking forward to sitting down with it. Beech's voice blends well with Tennebaum, tempering his voice, but in all honesty, he comes across as rather pompous and pretentious. I didn't get a sense that this book was written for anything other than to hear himself talk. The adventure stories were quite interesting, I'll give it that, and the pictures were a nice touch, but I didn't find Tennebaum's story overly thrilling in and of itself. It's one I will pass along in a Little Free Library, not one I would keep, and certainly not one I would reread.
August 20, 2019
Michael Tennebaum’s Risk: Living on the Edge provides readers with an insightful behind the scenes look into the now defunct investment firm Bear Stearns written from the point of view of a former general partner. Co-authored with Donna Beech, it breaks down the mechanics of life in a high end financial bubble set to burst in comprehensible language anyone will connect with rather than slowing readers with unfamiliar jargon and insider terms they may be unfamiliar with. It isn’t a brief read, but comprehensive and supported by a number of well chosen photographs along the way.
THE BOOK: https://riskthebook.com/
You can start anywhere in this book and gain a firm grasp of the subject. Tennebaum’s experiences are depicted without gloss or sentimentality. His fierce intelligence and willingness to lay bare the reality of his life for readers distinguishes the book from similar offerings in the genre. There’s little question the book gains reams of credibility thanks to his experiences on the front lines of Bear Sterns’ meteoric ascent in the world of global finance and their breathtaking collapse, but Risk: Living on the Edge is more than a no holds barred account of his tenure with Bear Sterns. It’s a subtle commentary, as well, on the mindset propels risk takers in business and the rewards and pitfalls possibly resulting from this philosophy.
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Risk-Living-Ed...
Tennebaum and Beech work well as co-authors; the work maintains a consistent narrative voice from beginning to end and it is impossible to find any obvious stitching together in the book’s 300+ pages. Few readers are likely to emerge from this book feeling sympathy for Tennebaum’s experiences with Bear Sterns, but that isn’t his goal with the book. Many readers will, however, finish reading with a sense of his humanity. He has learned a great deal from the experience and this book, in its own fashion, is a nodding and grateful tribute towards experiences gained.
Readers immersed in the business world and layman alike will find value in Risk: Living on the Edge. It has worth as both a quasi-memoir about one man’s journey in the world of high finance and a historical account of the rise and fall of one of the nation’s biggest investment firms ever at a pivotal moment in American history. It required a certain amount of bravery for Tennebaum to expose himself in the way he does here, but the book is fearless and readers who choose to ignore the lessons he learned do so at their own peril.
The book’s presentation bears mentioning. Books of this ilk typically do not incorporate photographs to help reinforce the narrative, but perhaps they should. Their inclusion in Risk: Living on the Edge helps provide flesh and blood reality to the principal players and aura of the time without overshadowing the text. It is this final stroke that pushes the book over the top and assures interested readers will return again and again to study this text rather than reading it once and shelving it. Posterity will be favorable to this work as an invaluable account of its time.
THE BOOK: https://riskthebook.com/
You can start anywhere in this book and gain a firm grasp of the subject. Tennebaum’s experiences are depicted without gloss or sentimentality. His fierce intelligence and willingness to lay bare the reality of his life for readers distinguishes the book from similar offerings in the genre. There’s little question the book gains reams of credibility thanks to his experiences on the front lines of Bear Sterns’ meteoric ascent in the world of global finance and their breathtaking collapse, but Risk: Living on the Edge is more than a no holds barred account of his tenure with Bear Sterns. It’s a subtle commentary, as well, on the mindset propels risk takers in business and the rewards and pitfalls possibly resulting from this philosophy.
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Risk-Living-Ed...
Tennebaum and Beech work well as co-authors; the work maintains a consistent narrative voice from beginning to end and it is impossible to find any obvious stitching together in the book’s 300+ pages. Few readers are likely to emerge from this book feeling sympathy for Tennebaum’s experiences with Bear Sterns, but that isn’t his goal with the book. Many readers will, however, finish reading with a sense of his humanity. He has learned a great deal from the experience and this book, in its own fashion, is a nodding and grateful tribute towards experiences gained.
Readers immersed in the business world and layman alike will find value in Risk: Living on the Edge. It has worth as both a quasi-memoir about one man’s journey in the world of high finance and a historical account of the rise and fall of one of the nation’s biggest investment firms ever at a pivotal moment in American history. It required a certain amount of bravery for Tennebaum to expose himself in the way he does here, but the book is fearless and readers who choose to ignore the lessons he learned do so at their own peril.
The book’s presentation bears mentioning. Books of this ilk typically do not incorporate photographs to help reinforce the narrative, but perhaps they should. Their inclusion in Risk: Living on the Edge helps provide flesh and blood reality to the principal players and aura of the time without overshadowing the text. It is this final stroke that pushes the book over the top and assures interested readers will return again and again to study this text rather than reading it once and shelving it. Posterity will be favorable to this work as an invaluable account of its time.
November 20, 2022
I have come to know Michael from The Explorers Club in NYC and have come to like him as much as I respect and admire him. I had no idea of the many accomplishments of his life coming from an immigrant family. Instrumental in the rise of the legendary Bear Stearns by creating various new groups, e.g., options, risk arb, and then starting his own successful firm, he has loved life to the fullest, and earned his Explorers Club cred through his love and support of ocean health: he and his wife helped launch the Smithsonian's Tennenbaum Marine Observatory network which studies how coastal marine ecosystems work.
September 2, 2019
I wish I had had the ability to read this book earlier. It might have given me the courage to utilize more opportunities that I encountered along the way. Michael Tannenbaum is an inspiring example of someone who evaluated risks, prepared precisely and has the emotional maturity to handle the consequences. This is an amazing man who has lots to share and its all interesting. I especially admire his commitment to social and philanthropic work.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
June 6, 2022
A fascinating book, although I think it could've been named differently. "Risk" is more a personal memoir and the title didn't lead me to believe that is what the book was. Still, this book offers excellent life advice from someone who appears to be successful and happy. I'd especially recommend this book for people who are interested in investing, investment banking, hedge funds, finance, and entrepreneurship.
January 3, 2023
A short autobiography of a lifelong Wall Street investment banker and credit investor…particularly interesting regarding his experiences at the Burnham & Co. firm before its merger with Drexel and at Bear Stearns, where he was successful in successive positions as a retail broker, risk arbitrageur, options trading business builder and M&A advisor...
January 3, 2024
Memoir of success from a former Bear Stearns investment banker. Not very good, lots of arrogance, but also an excellent appreciation for the Greatest Generation cohort of financiers like Ace Greenberg and John Whitehead.
Want to read
June 27, 2019animals, YES PLEASE.
April 10, 2023
Some good information, bit grandiose even when discussing simple things like scuba diving.
January 22, 2022
A disappointment. Not as advertised on the tin.
I have to admit that a title incorporating the word “Risk” may have inspired undue expectations of some interesting content.
Yup, it contains a few interesting anecdotes, but tiresome self-centered self-aggrandisement seems to compose the main element here.
You may safely substitute the word “Dud” for the “Risk” in the title and get get my visceral experience with this book.
Unfortunate, too-as the proposed premise and what it can reveal about survival and certain aspects of the human psyche are interesting topics.
I have to admit that a title incorporating the word “Risk” may have inspired undue expectations of some interesting content.
Yup, it contains a few interesting anecdotes, but tiresome self-centered self-aggrandisement seems to compose the main element here.
You may safely substitute the word “Dud” for the “Risk” in the title and get get my visceral experience with this book.
Unfortunate, too-as the proposed premise and what it can reveal about survival and certain aspects of the human psyche are interesting topics.
Want to read
November 11, 2019Thank you for the opportunity to review this book as a giveaway recipient. I am excited to finish it and will update my thoughts on this book soon!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews