Who wrote the classic investment book "Liar's Poker"?

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Who wrote the classic investment book “Liar’s Poker”? Michael Lewis wrote it.

Published in 1989, “Liar’s Poker” is a nonfiction, semi-autobiographical account of Lewis’s time at Salomon Brothers, a major Wall Street investment bank. After studying at Princeton and the London School of Economics, Lewis joined the firm as a bond salesman in the mid-1980s and worked in London and New York.

The book describes the aggressive culture of 1980s bond trading, including the rise of mortgage-backed securities, intense competition among traders, and the enormous risks created by Wall Street’s pursuit of profit. Its title refers to a bluffing game involving serial numbers on dollar bills that became associated with Salomon Brothers’ trading-floor culture.

A common mix-up is calling “Liar’s Poker” a conventional investing manual. It is better understood as a financial memoir and reported critique of Wall Street, combining personal experience with an explanation of how bond markets and investment banks operated. Lewis later became known for books including “Moneyball,” “The Big Short,” and “Flash Boys.”

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026

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