Street Freak: Money and Madness at Lehman Brothers

Street Freak: Money and Madness at Lehman Brothers by Jared Dillian
English | 2011 | ISBN: 1439181268, 1439181276 | 368 pages | EPUB | 5 MB

When Jared Dillian joined Lehman Brothers in 2001, he fulfilled a life-long dream to make it on Wall Street—but he had no idea how close to the edge the job would take him.

Like Michael Lewis’s classic Liar’s Poker, Jared Dillian’s Street Freak takes readers behind the scenes of the legendary Lehman Brothers, exposing its outrageous and often hilarious corporate culture.

In this ultracompetitive Ivy League world where men would flip over each other’s ties to check out the labels (also known as the “Lehman Handshake”), Dillian was an outsider as an ex-military, working-class guy in a Men’s Wearhouse suit. But he was scrappy and determined; in interviews he told potential managers that, “Nobody can work harder than me. Nobody is willing to put in the hours I will put in. I am insane.” As it turned out, on Wall Street insanity is not an undesirable quality.

Dillian rose from green associate, checking IDs at the entrance to the trading floor in the paranoid days following 9/11, to become an integral part of Lehman’s culture in its final years as the firm’s head Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) trader. More than $ 1 trillion in wealth passed through his hands, but at the cost of an untold number of smashed telephones and tape dispensers. Over time, the exhilarating and explosively stressful job took its toll on him. The extreme highs and lows of the trading floor masked and exacerbated the symptoms of Dillian’s undiagnosed bipolar and obsessive compulsive disorders, leading to a downward spiral that eventually landed him in a psychiatric ward.

Dillian put his life back together, returning to work healthier than ever before, but Lehman itself had seemingly gone mad, having made outrageous bets on commercial real estate, and was quickly headed for self-destruction.

A raucous account of the final years of Lehman Brothers, from 9/11 at its World Financial Center offices through the firm’s bankruptcy, including vivid portraits of trading-floor culture, the financial meltdown, and the company’s ultimate collapse, Street Freak is a raw, visceral, and wholly original memoir of life inside the belly of the beast during the most tumultuous time in financial history. In his electrifying and fresh voice, Dillian takes readers on a wild ride through madness and back, both inside Lehman Brothers and himself.

Susannah Cahalan - Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness [Audiobook] [Repost]

Susannah Cahalan – Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness
2012 | ISBN: 1451621388 | English | MP3@96 kbps | 7 hours and 48 minutes | 272 MB

A gripping memoir and medical suspense story about a young New York Post reporters struggle with a rare and terrifying disease, opening a new window into the fascinating world of brain science. One day, Susannah Cahalan woke up in a strange hospital room, strapped to her bed, under guard, and unable to move or speak. Her medical recordsfrom a month-long hospital stay of which she had no memoryshowed psychosis, violence, and dangerous instability. Yet, only weeks earlier she had been a healthy, ambitious twenty-four year old, six months into her first serious relationship and a sparkling career as a cub reporter. Susannahs astonishing memoir chronicles the swift path of her illness and the lucky, last-minute intervention led by one of the few doctors capable of saving her life. As weeks ticked by and Susannah moved inexplicably from violence to catatonia, $ 1 million worth of blood tests and brain scans revealed nothing. The exhausted doctors were ready to commit her to the psychiatric ward, in effect condemning her to a lifetime of institutions, or death, until Dr. Souhel Najjarnicknamed Dr. Housejoined her team. He asked Susannah to draw one simple sketch, which became key to diagnosing her with a newly discovered autoimmune disease in which her body was attacking her brain, an illness now thought to be the cause of demonic possessions throughout history. With sharp reporting drawn from hospital records, scientific research, and interviews with doctors and family, Brain on Fire is a crackling mystery and an unflinching, gripping personal story that marks the debut of an extraordinary writer.

Mullet Madness!: The Haircut That"s Business Up Front and a Party in the Back

Mullet Madness!: The Haircut That’s Business Up Front and a Party in the Back by Alan Henderson
English | 2013 | ISBN: 1616088605 | 144 pages | EPUB | 16 MB

America’s favorite hairstyle is back in a big way! Ever since its meteoric rise to superstar status in the 1980s, the mullet has persisted for generations as a cultural touchstone in the hearts and minds of the public. Love it or hate it, there’s no ignoring this one-of-a-kind ’do and its profound sociological significance. Mullet Madness! examines the tumultuous history of the enigmatic American mullet, from its (possible) Neolithic origins to its (questionable) presence atop the mighty Sphinx, from the white powdered mullets of our nation’s founding fathers to the storied coifs of Billy Ray Cyrus, Hulk Hogan, and David Copperfield.

Here is everything you need to go from total “neck blanket” amateur to certified mullet connoisseur. Bone up on the finer points of styling and upkeep. Learn to recognize the subtle variety of form so you’ll never confuse a Rattail Mullet with the classic Stingray look. Peruse galleries of iconic mullets from history, sports, movies, TV, music, and everyday Joes (and Janes!). Whether you call it an “Alabama Waterfall,” “Hockey Hair,” “The MacGuyver,” or “the Billy-Ray,” Mullet Madness! will have you reaching for the nearest pair of scissors, a mirror, and a six-pack of beer.