The Big Short
by Michael Lewis
★ Top 25 book of 2010 · #23 on Best Books of 2010
This darkly funny, character-driven account explains how the American economy was pushed toward collapse. It follows the unlikely few who recognised the danger in the housing and derivatives markets, and profited, while colleagues dismissed them as alarmists.
Best for: Readers curious about the financial crisis who like narrative nonfiction with a wry tone
The Big Short is #23 on BookWard's Best Books of 2010, out of 43 2010 books that cleared our data bar.
What The Big Short is about
Michael Lewis tells the story of the U.S. housing bubble of the 2000s through the handful of people who saw it coming and bet against it. Most of them were outsiders and oddballs: a former neurologist who started his own fund, two founders who began a hedge fund in a garage with $110,000, and traders and analysts who refused to follow the crowd. Their wager was placed in the credit default swap market, against a bubble built on CDOs.
Lewis keeps the focus on character rather than jargon, and he writes with a dry, sharp humour about greed and systemic failure on Wall Street. The book also counts the cost on the other side, including a single trade that lost $9 billion. It suits readers who want to understand how the financial crisis happened without a finance degree, and anyone who enjoys watching stubborn contrarians turn out to be right.
The Big Short on the Best Books of 2010
The Big Short came out in 2010. Of the 43 books first published in 2010 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #23 on our Best Books of 2010 list.
Why it made the list: 219 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.6 out of 5 (36 ratings). The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
It earns Reader favorite.
Nearby on the 2010 list
- The Scorch Trials James Dashner, #21
- The Passage Justin Cronin, #22
- Big Nate Strikes Again Lincoln Peirce, #24
See all Best Books of 2010 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2009 Best Books of 2011.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 167 want to read it, 9 are reading it now and 43 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 from 36 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 30 | 55% |
| Reader love | 95 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 23 | 20% |
Questions about The Big Short
When was The Big Short published?
The Big Short by Michael Lewis was first published in 2010.
Was The Big Short one of the best books of 2010?
The Big Short is #23 on BookWard's Best Books of 2010, out of 43 2010 books that cleared our data bar. 219 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.6 out of 5 (36 ratings).
Why is The Big Short on the Best Books of 2010 list?
219 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.6 out of 5 (36 ratings).
More of the best books of 2010
- The Lost Hero Rick Riordan, #1
- The Way of Kings Brandon Sanderson, #2
- Divergent Veronica Roth, #3
- The Personal MBA Josh Kaufman, #4
- The Red Pyramid Rick Riordan, #5
- It's Not Summer Without You Jenny Han, #6
See the full Best Books of 2010, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
Find your own best books
Add what you have read, rate it, and BookWard will recommend what to read next.
Free while in beta. No credit card needed.