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The Zeroes: My Misadventures in the Decade Wall Street Went Insane
What Liar's Poker was to the 1980s, The Zeroes is to the first decade of the new an insider's memoir of a gilded era when Wall Street went insane-and took the rest of us down with it.
Randall Lane never set out to become a Wall Street power broker. But during the decade he calls the Zeroes, he started a small magazine company that put him near the white-hot center of the biggest boom in history. Almost by accident, a man who drove a beat-up Subaru and lived in a rented walk-up became the go-to guy for big shots with nine-figure incomes.
Lane's saga began with a simple a glossy magazine exclusively for and about traders, which would treat them like rock stars and entice them to splurge on luxury goods. Trader Monthly was an instant hit around the world. Wall Streeters loved the spotlight, and advertisers like Gulfstream, Maybach, and Bulgari loved the marketing opportunity.
To accelerate the buzz, Lane's staff threw parties featuring celebrities, premium steaks, cigars, and top-shelf vodka. Nothing was too expensive or too outrageous. Private jets in Napa Valley. Casino nights in London. And $1,000-a- seat boxing matches in New York, where traders from Goldman Sachs and Bear Stearns pounded each other in front of tuxedoed throngs.
Before long, Wall Street's rich and powerful trusted Lane as a fellow insider-the guy who could turn an anonymous trader into a cover model and media darling. And the rest of the world sought him out as a way to tap into Wall Street's riches. As he emptied his bank account to help keep his little company afloat, he became a nexus for the absurd. Traders who turned 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina into multimillion-dollar windfalls. John McCain closing out the craps tables during an all-night gambling binge. Pop artist Peter Max hustling hundreds of thousands of dollars by selling traders paint-by-numbers portraits. Al Gore, John Travolta, Moby. Corrupt Caribbean rulers, the mobsters from Goodfellas , the pope. And a retired baseball star turned market guru named Lenny Dykstra, whose rise and fall was a great metaphor for the decade. All played roles in Lane's increasingly surreal world.
When the crash of 2008 hit, Lane's company and life savings were destroyed along with the high-flying traders and dealmakers his magazines exalted. But Lane walked away with something more an incredible true story, told by a skilled writer and reporter who sat squarely in the middle of one of the critical periods in modern financial and cultural history. People will turn to The Zeroes for many years to come, to find out what the era was really like.
Randall Lane never set out to become a Wall Street power broker. But during the decade he calls the Zeroes, he started a small magazine company that put him near the white-hot center of the biggest boom in history. Almost by accident, a man who drove a beat-up Subaru and lived in a rented walk-up became the go-to guy for big shots with nine-figure incomes.
Lane's saga began with a simple a glossy magazine exclusively for and about traders, which would treat them like rock stars and entice them to splurge on luxury goods. Trader Monthly was an instant hit around the world. Wall Streeters loved the spotlight, and advertisers like Gulfstream, Maybach, and Bulgari loved the marketing opportunity.
To accelerate the buzz, Lane's staff threw parties featuring celebrities, premium steaks, cigars, and top-shelf vodka. Nothing was too expensive or too outrageous. Private jets in Napa Valley. Casino nights in London. And $1,000-a- seat boxing matches in New York, where traders from Goldman Sachs and Bear Stearns pounded each other in front of tuxedoed throngs.
Before long, Wall Street's rich and powerful trusted Lane as a fellow insider-the guy who could turn an anonymous trader into a cover model and media darling. And the rest of the world sought him out as a way to tap into Wall Street's riches. As he emptied his bank account to help keep his little company afloat, he became a nexus for the absurd. Traders who turned 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina into multimillion-dollar windfalls. John McCain closing out the craps tables during an all-night gambling binge. Pop artist Peter Max hustling hundreds of thousands of dollars by selling traders paint-by-numbers portraits. Al Gore, John Travolta, Moby. Corrupt Caribbean rulers, the mobsters from Goodfellas , the pope. And a retired baseball star turned market guru named Lenny Dykstra, whose rise and fall was a great metaphor for the decade. All played roles in Lane's increasingly surreal world.
When the crash of 2008 hit, Lane's company and life savings were destroyed along with the high-flying traders and dealmakers his magazines exalted. But Lane walked away with something more an incredible true story, told by a skilled writer and reporter who sat squarely in the middle of one of the critical periods in modern financial and cultural history. People will turn to The Zeroes for many years to come, to find out what the era was really like.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published June 9, 2010
17 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 20, 2011
I've become a junkie for all the books about the recent economic crisis. For one reason, I think it largely defines (along with the wars in Iraq/Afghanistan) the great narrative of the new millennium. Secondly, I happened to be in New York at the time of the great struggles on Wall Street in 2008 and 2009 with a window seat to many of the issues that came out of that period. For instance, I remember the dollar bills taped to the doors of the Bear Stearns building on Madison Avenue as I passed them on my way to work the day after the former financial powerhouse was sold to J.P. Morgan for two dollars a share. Shortly thereafter, I too would be affected by the financial meltdown, as I was outsourced from the lofty heights of a position at 30 Rockefeller to a satellite function in the deep South. Seeing some of the aftermath myself drives me to try to understand what could have caused the precipitous decline of our financial systems and what or who is to blame for the enormous losses and changes to the economic landscape of our entire country.
However, it isn't always easy to understand what happened at some of these financial institutions when you are an outsider. The jargon and the players involved are a bit obscure to the layman even if these characters are considered titans in their industry and their language of choice drives the engines of industry that drag the rest of us along for the ride. I find that most of the literature on the subject is kind of dry and while the authors attempt in good faith to explain what happened behind the scenes, it takes quite a bit of commitment to make sense of it all. You'll be four or five books and hundreds of CNBC hours-watched into your project before you start to really get it.
It is within this context that Randall Lane's book "The Zeroes: My Misadventures in the Decade Wall Street Went Insane" emerges with what I can only think to call the outsider's ultimate inside view to the whole fiasco. As the Editor-in-Chief and Co-founder of the magazine, Trader Monthly, Lane was essentially given a front row seat to the excess and urgency of the decade he affectionately calls The Zeroes (2000-09) not only for the double zeroes in the date, but for the zero job growth and GDP growth the decade ultimately produced.
The book goes through the very interesting path Lane had to take to come up with and finance Trader Monthly as well as the colorful and powerful partners who helped him make the magazine come to life. Intent on showing off the lifestyle of the best and brightest on Wall Street, Lane was able to tap into something deeper and darker perhaps than he imagined when launching the project, the greed and excess which run just below the surface of the financial industry. While at first he is able to market the lifestyles of these traders and deal-makers mining a niche advertising market for ultra-luxury items he soon comes face to face with the limitations of independent publishing even for what turned out to be a very popular publication. As he is forced to take on more and more risk to keep his business viable, he becomes infected with the same disease which had already taken hold of the major financial houses on Wall Street (and around the world it turned out) over-leverage.
Cue sinister music.
Since the entire premise of the book is that things don't turn out well (and that the book is marketed this way) means that pointing it out in my personal review isn't much of a spoiler. But even on the way down, Randall Lane is very observant and honest about his missteps. In fact, through the entire rise and fall of Trader Monthly he has taken some keen notes about who was where and when seemingly all of the time. While the book doesn't necessarily descend into tabloid fare, it does take some strange turns into the back alleys and secret handshake deals that get made behind the multi-million dollar facades of giant homes, rare cars, exotic timepieces and the gross symbols of excess that have come to define the period. If there is a complaint that I might have with the book it is that maybe he didn't quite go tabloid enough in some of his stories. He includes in his story constant mentions of great parties with truly excessive motifs, A-list crowds and peeks behind the curtains that separate the truly wealthy from the rest of us. However, besides a little name-dropping and calling out of the few crass individuals who perhaps didn't really belong on the financial circuit's social scene he rarely gets into any sordid details beyond who could afford what toys and who was willing to show off said toys to the readership of his magazine. In this manner, Lane served sort of as the ultimate gatekeeper for the wealthy community all while promising the reader revelations of here-to-for unseen profligacy and a look at the underbelly of privilege that comes with it. But he never truly delivers on that front. Smart, I guess, if you plan on one day launching a triumphant return to that arena, but hardly worthy of any real journalistic props.
I do like that the book is very accessible and clearly spells out the pitfalls that the author faced tip-toeing through the world of the mega-rich. I found the stories engaging and filled with enough detail to be fully credible. And in the end, I came to like him. Obvious comparisons to Nick Carraway aside, I think Randall Lane comes away from the experiences a better person with a firm understanding that the rules which apply to the very rich (or to those who can keep making money for the very rich) are not the same rules that the rest of us play by. But, for better or for worse, someone who got to visit that world for a short time came back with a pretty amazing cautionary tale about it and some sharp insight into what the American Dream is really truly like for those who get to live it rather than just dream it.
However, it isn't always easy to understand what happened at some of these financial institutions when you are an outsider. The jargon and the players involved are a bit obscure to the layman even if these characters are considered titans in their industry and their language of choice drives the engines of industry that drag the rest of us along for the ride. I find that most of the literature on the subject is kind of dry and while the authors attempt in good faith to explain what happened behind the scenes, it takes quite a bit of commitment to make sense of it all. You'll be four or five books and hundreds of CNBC hours-watched into your project before you start to really get it.
It is within this context that Randall Lane's book "The Zeroes: My Misadventures in the Decade Wall Street Went Insane" emerges with what I can only think to call the outsider's ultimate inside view to the whole fiasco. As the Editor-in-Chief and Co-founder of the magazine, Trader Monthly, Lane was essentially given a front row seat to the excess and urgency of the decade he affectionately calls The Zeroes (2000-09) not only for the double zeroes in the date, but for the zero job growth and GDP growth the decade ultimately produced.
The book goes through the very interesting path Lane had to take to come up with and finance Trader Monthly as well as the colorful and powerful partners who helped him make the magazine come to life. Intent on showing off the lifestyle of the best and brightest on Wall Street, Lane was able to tap into something deeper and darker perhaps than he imagined when launching the project, the greed and excess which run just below the surface of the financial industry. While at first he is able to market the lifestyles of these traders and deal-makers mining a niche advertising market for ultra-luxury items he soon comes face to face with the limitations of independent publishing even for what turned out to be a very popular publication. As he is forced to take on more and more risk to keep his business viable, he becomes infected with the same disease which had already taken hold of the major financial houses on Wall Street (and around the world it turned out) over-leverage.
Cue sinister music.
Since the entire premise of the book is that things don't turn out well (and that the book is marketed this way) means that pointing it out in my personal review isn't much of a spoiler. But even on the way down, Randall Lane is very observant and honest about his missteps. In fact, through the entire rise and fall of Trader Monthly he has taken some keen notes about who was where and when seemingly all of the time. While the book doesn't necessarily descend into tabloid fare, it does take some strange turns into the back alleys and secret handshake deals that get made behind the multi-million dollar facades of giant homes, rare cars, exotic timepieces and the gross symbols of excess that have come to define the period. If there is a complaint that I might have with the book it is that maybe he didn't quite go tabloid enough in some of his stories. He includes in his story constant mentions of great parties with truly excessive motifs, A-list crowds and peeks behind the curtains that separate the truly wealthy from the rest of us. However, besides a little name-dropping and calling out of the few crass individuals who perhaps didn't really belong on the financial circuit's social scene he rarely gets into any sordid details beyond who could afford what toys and who was willing to show off said toys to the readership of his magazine. In this manner, Lane served sort of as the ultimate gatekeeper for the wealthy community all while promising the reader revelations of here-to-for unseen profligacy and a look at the underbelly of privilege that comes with it. But he never truly delivers on that front. Smart, I guess, if you plan on one day launching a triumphant return to that arena, but hardly worthy of any real journalistic props.
I do like that the book is very accessible and clearly spells out the pitfalls that the author faced tip-toeing through the world of the mega-rich. I found the stories engaging and filled with enough detail to be fully credible. And in the end, I came to like him. Obvious comparisons to Nick Carraway aside, I think Randall Lane comes away from the experiences a better person with a firm understanding that the rules which apply to the very rich (or to those who can keep making money for the very rich) are not the same rules that the rest of us play by. But, for better or for worse, someone who got to visit that world for a short time came back with a pretty amazing cautionary tale about it and some sharp insight into what the American Dream is really truly like for those who get to live it rather than just dream it.
September 4, 2010
This is a great review of the 2008-2009 financial implosion and the events that triggered it. Excess big time. Great book from the publisher of Trader Monthly.....loved the insight to the Wall Street mentality and the amount of money made by some of the traders was absolutely insane....$4 billion in one year by John Paulson.....many traders not even 27 years old making $100 million or more in one year and they do it again the next. Just amazing but it came crashing down and most didn't have much to show for all of it. Great book if you want to re-live the hey day on Wall Street and watch it fall from grace. Read the book in 2 days!!! I couldn't put it down.
September 29, 2017
I can't say I liked this book. Some interesting tales, but the author comes across as condescending. In the beginning of the book, he tells the tales of rich people who didn't work hard for their funds-while he's the only one supposedly earning an honest living, while rambling around in his 97 Subaru and living in his 4 story walk-up. In the middle to end-he seems to be getting screwed by everyone he trusted, again positioning himself as the one honest man.
The author grew up in a rich section of Westchester county, attended an ivy league school, and was an editor at Forbes-so it is hard to paint this guy as a common every man.
The author grew up in a rich section of Westchester county, attended an ivy league school, and was an editor at Forbes-so it is hard to paint this guy as a common every man.
January 7, 2023
Lost more notes in my old phone but thsi book prompted me to read Randal's second book and they're both page turners.
What my 👂 heard below 👇
I had more money then sense
given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior.
"it's terrible to feel our livelihood hinges on a capricious boss" mike Anderson
What my 👂 heard below 👇
I had more money then sense
given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior.
"it's terrible to feel our livelihood hinges on a capricious boss" mike Anderson
July 22, 2022
Cool insight, a unique perspective few people would have but the descriptions of the actual finances/deals etc. could have been easier to digest
September 29, 2023
The book is good but just takes to long to get to the point.
July 29, 2025
The Zeroes quickly became one of my favorite books. From the very first page, it captivated me with its vibrant storytelling and razor sharp recollections. Randall Lane has a rare gift for detail - his ability to vividly reconstruct the people and excesses of the dot-com era, as well as the hedge-fund industry, is nothing short of remarkable. Each character he interacted with in his personal life and professional journey through business journalism is rendered with such clarity that it feels like you're sitting in the same room, catching every nuance and absurdity of their world. Randall's writing is so descriptive and vivid that you can't help wanting to be these people yet also loathing them at the same time.
But what makes this book so exceptional is not just the wild stories, but Randall's perspective. Standing at the intersection of media and money, he brings a voice that's both astute and deeply human. You can feel the awe, the disillusionment, and the fascination in his tone as he chronicles encounters with some of the most unforgettable personalities from that time. The extravagance, the ambition, the unraveling - it's all there and it's all told in a way that makes you feel part of the ride.
I found myself hooked from start to finish, totally immersed in a world that was as outrageous as it was enlightening. It's not just a book about a chaotic chapter in business history, but rather a lens into how excess, ego, and opportunity collided in fascinating ways. It's one of those books that leaves a lasting imprint - one where you will learn a lot, laugh more than you expect, and walk away with new insight into an era that shaped so much of what we see today.
But what makes this book so exceptional is not just the wild stories, but Randall's perspective. Standing at the intersection of media and money, he brings a voice that's both astute and deeply human. You can feel the awe, the disillusionment, and the fascination in his tone as he chronicles encounters with some of the most unforgettable personalities from that time. The extravagance, the ambition, the unraveling - it's all there and it's all told in a way that makes you feel part of the ride.
I found myself hooked from start to finish, totally immersed in a world that was as outrageous as it was enlightening. It's not just a book about a chaotic chapter in business history, but rather a lens into how excess, ego, and opportunity collided in fascinating ways. It's one of those books that leaves a lasting imprint - one where you will learn a lot, laugh more than you expect, and walk away with new insight into an era that shaped so much of what we see today.
October 6, 2010
Fascinating book. Some of the excesses detailed (like the $175 hamburger or the $1000 frittata) were jaw droppers - it's really hard to even imagine making and spending as much money as many of the traders discussed in this book.
I did find that I walked away with a better understanding of what was going on in the financial markets during the decade and how all the old investment rules were thrown out the window, as it became one big casino.
It all made more sense, when told in specific dealings with specific people, and having the personalities included made it far more interesting than just an overall explanation of what was going on.
I did find that I walked away with a better understanding of what was going on in the financial markets during the decade and how all the old investment rules were thrown out the window, as it became one big casino.
It all made more sense, when told in specific dealings with specific people, and having the personalities included made it far more interesting than just an overall explanation of what was going on.
November 24, 2010
Randall Lane does not make any excuses for the decade he calls The Zeroes. This is not the kind of book that i would normally pick up, I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads, and thought well i had better give it a read and i'm so glad i did. Because this book is so different to the genre i normally read i thought i would give it a minimum of an hours reading before i gave up on it. But an hour came and went before i realized i was really enjoying the story so much that it only took me two days to read
February 23, 2016
[kindle edition:]
Really enjoyed this book, as it encompasses the Zeros as experienced by the writer, who lived the bubble till it burst. Loved the first person personal touch in a way that other books on the subject usually lack. Well written detailed page flipping read I'd suggest to anyone interested in the bank bust, magazine publishing, and a look inside the luxury life unobtainable to most.
Really enjoyed this book, as it encompasses the Zeros as experienced by the writer, who lived the bubble till it burst. Loved the first person personal touch in a way that other books on the subject usually lack. Well written detailed page flipping read I'd suggest to anyone interested in the bank bust, magazine publishing, and a look inside the luxury life unobtainable to most.
September 28, 2010
I liked the topic but gave it three stars because of the wall street/trader/etc. lingo that I couldn't keep up with. Felt like the author needed to take a breath! (Lots of run on paragraphs...)
But...a good read in that the events that happened were very recent and topical. Amazed at the Wall Street greed, ego, competition, etc. (even AFTER the bailouts). Interesting story just didn't like his writing style.
But...a good read in that the events that happened were very recent and topical. Amazed at the Wall Street greed, ego, competition, etc. (even AFTER the bailouts). Interesting story just didn't like his writing style.
December 5, 2010
Decently written narrative about the continued struggle to keep Doubledown Media, publishers of Trader Monthly, Private Air and like, afloat from 2001 through 2009. In between, there's some interesting stories about two of my favorite quasi-Wall Street characters, Tim Sykes and Lenny Dykstra. Not a must read, but a "can read" for anyone interested in publishing, the magazine industry or Wall Street in general.
December 3, 2010
Unfortunately, it was extremely dense reading so it took me a while to get through. At first I was fascinated, but it soon turned into a laundry list of all the amenities that bankers/hedgies had. Furthermore, the end of the book seemed more intent on the author's own agenda (e.g., calling out those who had wronged him) rather than telling the true story of the decade. However, it did teach me a lot more about the hedge fund industry as a whole, and I appreciated that.
January 4, 2011
An entertaining read and perspective on the insanity of Wall Street in between 2000-2010. It was well written, though at times it feels like the author had too much joy from insulting those who had wronged him and just wanted a forum to publicly humiliate them.
Similar to "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis, though that book is better than this which is more entertainment than educational.
Similar to "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis, though that book is better than this which is more entertainment than educational.
October 13, 2010
Interesting look at the last decade from someone who was very close to Wall Street. I got tired of hearing about how rich all of the traders are, the author's own arrogance, and the way he lambasted many people in the book (Lenny Dykstra and Peter Max, to name a few). They may have deserved it but man, this guy is vicious.
August 13, 2019
I gave this a 3 star because of the nature of the topic, which I don't quite get and it took me a while to get through the whole thing. But by the end of it, the author manage to weave a story-like tale of his adventure through the Zeroes which made it much more bearable.
[Disclaimer: Copy received from Giveaway.]
[Disclaimer: Copy received from Giveaway.]
November 18, 2010
slow start but gets pretty good. It does a really good job of chronicling the wallstreet attitudes from 2000-2010. The characters the author come into contact with are interesting but just as important they are real. In many cases through out this book truth is stranger than fiction.
June 7, 2011
interesting view from someone who had a backstage pass to the decadence of wall street without actually being part of the club.
January 17, 2011
Funny, thought provoking, well written story of Wall Street in the "zeroes"....
June 11, 2011
This came very close to getting 5 stars. A really interesting look at Wall St, The luxury Publishing Industry, and trying to run a start up when the financial world went to hell..
December 27, 2012
A glimpse into the high-flying ways of the punks of high finance.
Some of the reasons all of our homes have lost value.
Some of the reasons all of our homes have lost value.
June 14, 2013
Such a fun read for those of us who loved Trader Monthly!
April 8, 2015
Very much enjoyed this. Have been a fan of Randall since he put out POV magazine. Great story, hard to put down.
May 19, 2015
Great read. And I find myself witnessing a similar situation.
March 22, 2016
A sobering tale of the debt-fuelled conspicuous consumption of Wall St in the first decade.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews