Today we’re doing a book review of Eddie Braverman’s soon to be released book “The Best of Braverman Volume 1”. For those unacquainted with Eddie, he’s an ex-trader who posts on Wall Street Oasis and has done so for several years. (Yes we have an account and we are relatively new to the scene – luckily it’s obvious we work on the Street to the users over there).
With that said lets go ahead and jump into the review.
Enter the Wall Street Jungle: In the beginning of the book he covers his brief history of breaking into Wall Street. Out of the gate you know he has interacted with Wall Street Professionals as his first interview resulted with the following comment: “The Passive aggressive comment flew right over my head” After his interviewer gives him a direct insult.Hilarious. For those unfamiliar, the vast majority of Type A Wall Street professionals have next to no social skills and will use passive aggressive mannerisms to belittle you.
Finally, to put the nail in the coffin on his legitimate Wall Street experience the following quote stands out: “How often do you see a sell recommendation on a Company that has a relationship with the bank? That’s right: never.”
Life Advice For Twenty Year Olds: This was the most actionable and spot on piece of the book in our view: “If you’re in your twenties, the four things you should avoid like an Ebola victim bleeding out in Times Square are debt, marriage, children, and wasting assets.” We could not agree more with this statement. Nowadays, many people are simply following the herd going to college with no purpose racking up personal debt and subsequently living at home with mom and dad.
To drive the point home, we agree entirely with Eddie’s take down of debt: “Debt is an absolute dream killer. Debt will take all your options, hopes, and dreams and drop them like third-period French. You will be a slave.”
There are various job opportunities out there in the world, many are just unwilling to do them because they believe they are above them. Instead of asking if you’re above a task ask yourself, how will this improve or damage my options? This is the correct mindset. If it means you have to eat shit sandwiches for a few years, instead of thinking about the present think about what you really want to become later in life.
Now That I’m Debt Free What Do I Do? This is the rather obvious follow up question after his dialogue on avoiding debt, marriage, children and wasting assets (note a wasting asset is essentially an object of no long-term value such as a fancy sports car). On that note the following quote he uses sums it up nicely:
“Do you really want to own all that shit, or do you just want to experience it?”
Again we agree with this comment on all fronts, this is why you should be a minimalist. In addition he goes on to explain that we should all at least experience some of these things from time to time, a fancy steak dinner, driving a Ferrari at full speed etc. We agree – who doesn’t want to drive a Ferrari on a race track at least once? This is why being frugal is not something you should strive to become, as it could hamper your life experiences in a dramatic way.
Eddie is a Bit Red Pill: Surprisingly Eddie may be a bit more red pill than not and you can see this in another section where he speaks to masculinity. With the following spot on quote: “The double standard I’m speaking of is the growing trend toward the feminization of men by society, which is causing a shortage of ‘acceptable’ men as far as women are concerned… So now we have ‘men’ in their twenties and thirties who still live with their parents, play video games for hours on end, and seem to have no real direction in life…”
Followed by the following spot on masculinity advice: “First and foremost that means slaying your own demons: your fears, your self-doubt.”
The above quotations could have shown up on this very blog. There is a vicious cycle of feminism promotion and masculine demotion that is causing this trend and it doesn’t look like it is going to stop any time soon. In our view, the best thing you can do for yourself is shut off the main stream news flow, ignore your overweight or skrillex haircut feminist professors and of course never get married in the West (Sorry Eddie we’ll have to disagree on your having kids stance in Western Societies – even if you want kids don’t have them here in the USA, you’d be damned fool).
Finally capping off the life advice, the following quote should be written on your wall and stapled to your forehead. “No one is looking out for you. That’s a cold, hard fact.” Remember, no one cares about you.
Wall Street and Stories About Trades: Since our readers have a wide range, beyond Wall Street, we would note that a large portion of the book also involves a lot of lingo and stories that will go over people’s heads. Most people have no idea what short selling a stock even means. However, if you’re interested in finance stories that are spot on accurate and entertaining you’ll certainly enjoy reading about them.
Concluding Remarks: Overall we enjoyed the book and believe the following people would find it of interest 1) Current Wall Street Professionals, 2) Fans of Eddie Braverman of course, 3) Men/Women truly interested in working Wall Street and 4) People interested in Wall Street culture and interest in advice from a legitimate Wall Street professional. Notably, we do warn that a large amount again is tailored to Wall St professionals (EG: stories about trades, taking down banks – which requires an understanding of the financial system etc.)
You can pick up his book here. (This is not an affiliate link and is an honest review)
Note to Eddie: If you get the chance, Backdoor Mark is certainly welcome to throw up a guest post. “He’s into his forties now, but the girls he’s with have stayed the same age as back then. Incredible.” – Game Recognized.
