Want the inside scoop on back room deals and dirty money of the world’s most infamous, Wall Street investor?  Go watch Billions.  Steve Cohen may be the real Bobby Axelrod, but this non-fiction account focuses more on flipping the low man on the totem pole than following the most ruthless of hedge fund titans.  As someone who almost always prefers the book to the movie/show, I find Billions broadly follows real life accounts with more entertainment… and more Wags.

Even the finance professional target audience may be let down by this book.  A description of Cohen and his rise to the top is the most captivating part of the book as urban legends of the trading floor are confirmed. However, the story quickly pivots to constructing an evidence cork board with all strings leading to Cohen.  Black Edge focuses on each stepping stone that led to Cohen’s prosecution without sacrificing details on the lives of government agents or low level pawns. It becomes repetitive and tedious to keep track of so many traders, consultants, FBI officers and SEC officials.

I wish the book focused more on Steve Cohen and the Wild West days of hedge fund investing.  Cohen and his antics revolutionized finance and added fuel to the Wall Street / Main Street fires.  This novel focuses instead on legal process and SEC efforts to build a case which slowly climbs up the hedge fund hierarchy to take down the King.

Verdict: Skip it
Length: 370 pages
Who May Like: Finance and legal professionals
Instead Try: Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice by Bill Browder

Buy Black Edge HERE.

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