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Writer's pictureNishant Mittal

14th book of 2020: Flash Boys by Michael Lewis

What is great journalism?


1. Showing the world a new way of looking at an old truth

2. Unravelling a new truth by searching for it like a detective, fighting against all odds. Or,

3. Looking for something which no one knows (or cares) about right now. But should.


It's a rhetorical question, and the answer is 'whatever Michael Lewis does' (he usually does all of above, in an increasing order of importance). Consider this: #Moneyball shook the world of #Baseball, #TheBigShort changed the world of Finance & this one - #FlashBoys - opens up the can of filthy worms that is the world of High Frequency Trading (HFT). Three huge works of investigative journalism. Brilliant and incredibly consequential. Pulled off by just one guy. Who does that?


Flash Boys talks about how HFT has disrupted the world of stock trading, and for bad. It exposes the corruption & complacence in the world of finance, and also the strange collusion between thieves and protectors of people's money.


Reality is stranger than fiction sometimes, While the truth being sad and bitter

When there's so much money turning around,

It's hard to tell gold from just glitter.


Michael Lewis is unbelievable. And Flash Boys is a masterpiece. Should be in the curriculum.




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