The Asylum is a stunning exposé by a seasoned Wall Street journalist that once and for all reveals the truth behind America’s oil addiction in all its unscripted and dysfunctional glory.
In the tradition of Too Big to Fail and Liar’s Poker, author Leah McGrath Goodman tells the amazing-but-true story of a band of struggling, hardscrabble traders who, after enduring decades of scorn from New York’s stuffy financial establishment, overcame more than a century of failure, infighting, and brinksmanship to build the world’s reigning oil empire—entirely by accident.
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"A must-read for anyone either in or on the sidelines of the energy industry. If there was any last remnants of belief that fundamentals rule the energy markets, this portrait of the NYMEX pits and how screen trading as completely overcome the industry, will bury that belief firmly six feet under."
— Samantha (4 out of 5 stars)
“A riveting tale of greed gone mad. Goodman nails the culture…A great ride for market fans.”
— Businessweek“A seriously informative and amusing look into the oil trading pits.”
— Huffington Post“Finance journalist Goodman traces Nymex’s transformation into a colossus with a stranglehold on the sale of the world’s energy. Goodman explores the lurid culture of Nymex traders, scruffy hustlers who shriek, swear, and bring guns, drugs, and hookers right into the trading pit…One of the year’s most colorful business histories.”
— Publishers Weekly“In the complex world of the energy markets where pit trading is a blue-collar profession, Goodman captures the grit and spirit of the floor and the personalities in the board room…Her depiction of the players and the place to ring true.”
— Reuters" Outstanding analysis on the background and evolution of the Oil futures market. This should required reading for everyone interested in the cause and effect regarding oil prices and the world market "
— Johnbh46, 8/8/2013" This was recommended to me as a sort of companion book to the Enron story "The Smartest Guys in the Room" but it wasn't as well-written and I gave up. "
— Tracy, 8/3/2013" Commento per gli italiani: un attesissimo libro negli Stati Uniti, una interessante storia da leggere, per chi ama leggere in inglese "
— Damiano, 7/16/2013" Fuck NYMEX, fuck futures trading. The first 1/4 of this book explains in detail just what is wrong with the oil market and tells you who to blame for gas prices. "
— Alden, 3/6/2011" Good book thus far. But needed to downsize. Left it with Bastian. "
— Sarah, 3/2/2011" Commento per gli italiani: un attesissimo libro negli Stati Uniti, una interessante storia da leggere, per chi ama leggere in inglese "
— Damiano, 1/18/2011Leah McGrath Goodman is an award-winning journalist who has written for Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, the Financial Times, and the Guardian in New York and London. She currently resides in Boulder, where she is a Ted Scripps fellow at the University of Colorado.
Robert Fass is a veteran actor and twice winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. He has earned multiple Earphones Awards and been named in AudioFile magazine’s list of the year’s best narrations for six years.