When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management by Roger Lowenstein

A griping account of the meteoric rise and fall of Long Term Capital Management, a investment firm founded by famous mathematicians and economists. The firm deployed vigorous mathematical models to identify and profit from market inefficiencies. However, since the inefficiencies they sought out only offered a slight edge, they maxed their leverage with the confidence of their models behind them. Their hubris eventually doomed them as a series of global events led to “improbable” outcomes and due to their leverage, they nearly brought down the financial system with them.