Molly WhiteOct 4, 2023

I've reviewed Michael Lewis's book Going Infinite, which just published today as Sam Bankman-Fried's trial kicks off. Ultimately, it's a story of the FTX collapse that never meaningfully changed from the hero story Lewis originally set out to write.

https://newsletter.mollywhite.net/p/review-michael-lewiss-going-infinite

#FTX #SBF #GoingInfinite #MichaelLewis #crypto #cryptocurrency #BookReview

Review: Michael Lewis's Going Infinite

If Sam Bankman-Fried is convicted in the upcoming FTX fraud trial, Lewis’s admiring biography will take an awkward place on the shelves of history.

Molly White
Show threadMolly White

If Sam Bankman-Fried is convicted in the upcoming FTX fraud trial, Lewis’s admiring biography will take an awkward place on the shelves of history.

#FTX #SBF #GoingInfinite #MichaelLewis #crypto #cryptocurrency #BookReview

Oct 4, 2023 at 1:25amWeb
Show threadMolly WhiteOct 4, 2023

I joined Michael Lewis on his podcast back in May, and found him generally skeptical of both cryptocurrencies and the industry. We didn't talk much about FTX specifically, which is perhaps why I left that conversation hopeful about this book.

https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/against-the-rules/on-background-crypto-skeptic-proven-right

#FTX #SBF #GoingInfinite #MichaelLewis #crypto #cryptocurrency #BookReview

On Background: Crypto Skeptic Proven Right | Against the Rules

If you spend any time reporting on the world of crypto currency and Bitcoin, then you’re going to run across the name Molly White.

Pushkin Industries
Show threadGlyphOct 4, 2023
@molly0xfff this is … not what I would have expected from Michael Lewis. Very disappointing.
Show threadFunk_FunkyOct 4, 2023
@glyph @molly0xfff between this and the Blind Side’s dark turn, his reputation has taken a big hit in my eye. Sigh….
Show threadDLSOct 4, 2023
@glyph @molly0xfff probably worth evaluating his past work with this in mind.
Show threadjust AshOct 4, 2023
@molly0xfff it's not today unreasonable to be skeptical of crypto at this point is it? I know it's not going to go away (why would I run an academic journal about it if I thought otherwise) but healthy skepticism is probably warranted, no?
Show threadMolly WhiteOct 4, 2023
@breezeholmfox it's certainly not unreasonable
Show threadRob IsaacOct 4, 2023
@molly0xfff awesome that mastodon now supports <grits teeth> style tags in replies
Show threaddavid m kimOct 4, 2023
@molly0xfff i remember that podcast and thought the book would be more analytical. after the indictments, i thought he'd really want to dig into what went wrong, especially with that level of access but it seems he falls in love with characters he's writing about.
Show threadRobin CafollaOct 4, 2023
@molly0xfff that's a real shame. I also had high hopes after listening to your interview.
Show threadUncle VinnyOct 6, 2023
@molly0xfff it's such a bummer. The Big Short was amazing. His article on Irish and Icelandic banking was funny, informative and easy to absorb. The Fifth Risk was a great read, I wish everyone would. But now? Jeez, what to think of the guy.
Show threadLAURENOct 4, 2023
@molly0xfff It won't be alone. Amazon is filled with sycophantic biographies that should never have seen a printed page.
Show threadScott BronsonOct 4, 2023
@noondlyt @molly0xfff Right next to Isaacson’s full credulity treatment of Musk. Why investigate when you can just take their word on everything?
Show threadErin ConroyOct 4, 2023

@molly0xfff

Wow this is *so* disappointing. I've read a lot of Michael Lewis' books and always thought he was smart and skeptical. Yikes. Putting it all on the line for SBF? Why?

Show threadFinchHaven sfbaOct 4, 2023

@chargrille

Michael Lewis?

The "Liar's Poker" Michael Lewis?

That's the only book of his I've read, and that a very long time ago

huh...

(I don't read much non-fiction)

cc @molly0xfff

Show threadUnlettered PeasantOct 4, 2023
@FinchHaven @chargrille @molly0xfff
If you've seen the movie The Big Short, that's him too (Adam McKay wrote the screenplay based on his book).
Show threadDarrel PlantOct 4, 2023

@chargrille @justanotherengineer @molly0xfff @FinchHaven

He also wrote “The Blind Side” about a kid who was good at football and was “taken in” by a some wealthy friends of Lewis’s and signed a conservatorship when he thought he was agreeing to be adopted. Story got turned into a Sandra Bullock movie.

https://www.theroot.com/resurfaced-video-of-the-blind-side-author-joking-about-1850751809

Resurfaced Video of The Blind Side Author Joking About Michael Oher’s College Grades Has Me Feeling a Type of

Also Watch The Root's video with Oher ...only five days before he filed the petition.

The Root
Show threadErin ConroyOct 4, 2023

@darrelplant

I never read that one and I didn't actually know until your toot that Lewis wrote it. That is very disturbing. Because surely Lewis knew that.

@justanotherengineer @molly0xfff @FinchHaven

Show threadDarrel PlantOct 4, 2023

@chargrille @molly0xfff @justanotherengineer @FinchHaven

I’d heard of it but I’m not a football fan so hadn’t read it or seen the movie. I did however see the stories about Oher suing the family earlier this year and was frankly shocked to see that clip of Lewis.

Show threadDarrel PlantOct 4, 2023

@molly0xfff @chargrille @FinchHaven

Not much non-fiction? Then you’re in good shape for this!

Show threadRob IsaacOct 4, 2023
@chargrille I think his most successful niche as an author is writing about the plucky underdog who went against conventional wisdom and won big. If, as @molly0xfff theorised, he went into this expecting to tell that story, I guess it must have been pretty hard to change direction. Pretty heartbroken, tbh.
Show threadErin ConroyOct 4, 2023

@rmi @molly0xfff

Yeah. This is a big fall from grace, in my book.

Show threadcmeierOct 4, 2023
@molly0xfff That's too bad. Lewis really does have a substantial, deservedly high reputation as a journalist and storyteller. But I'd guess that not everyone can get it right 100% of the time.