Rigged: The True Story of an Ivy League Kid Who Changed the World of Oil, from Wall Street to Dubai (P.S.)

Let me start by saying that I have read several Ben Mezrich books and in general I am a fan and in no way have an axe to grind. However I really have to say that this book is total rubbish starting with the misleading title ll the way to one of the most anti-climatic endings evr. I was seriously angry that I labored through this book only to have the ending so ridiculously uneventful. The titled 'Rigged' would leave you to believe that perhaps there was some exotic scheme to beat the markets or some other dubious act as part of the story. WRONG. This book can be summed up as ....a young kid helps open an oil exchange in Dubai.....where he see's wealth he's never been exposed to, and a few skeptics try to stop him from opening the exchange because its in the middle east....and then he gets it approved at work. SHOCKING! Just a complete waste of time.

This guy writes very interesting books.

Awesome story

great book as described

"I'm not looking to use big words," Mezrich admits. "I write for people who if they weren't reading my book, they wouldn't be reading another book. They would be watching TV. I'm not competing with other books. I'm competing with the Red Sox.

Pretty much says it all. I'd rather be reading any other book!

Working and living as I do in Dubai, I picked this up at the Dubai International Airport(DIA) while awaiting a flight out(why oh why do airports across the world tend to stock only such horrendous literature?). I will get to the Dubai aspect soon but first I have to address the utterly ridiculous Italian stereotypes prevalent mostly in the first half that would make even the producers of the Sopranos blush!Someone has to send the Harvard grad Mezrich a memo that this isnt the 1920s anymore ,Italians do not reside in their ghettos and dont remain violent,borderline illiterate and clannish! Im hardly Italian myself and I was offended.
The circumstances in which the Augustino character got his promotion was utterly ridiculous- his superiors were impressed by a hastily compiled report and presentation on North Sea Futures?! Heck I know nothing about that stuff myself but if a VP slot is on the line I can whip something up pretty quick and no I dont need an Oxford degree to do that! Pretty much any college graduate with above average intelligence can do what he did.
The idea of his mother fainting at the thought of him going to Dubai is quite fantastic!Now I realize that most Americans aren't the most enlightened lot when it comes to a working knowledge of the outside world but this is a bit much!
And Dubai- dear god where to begin.Most of his descriptions of Dubai are reminiscent of wannabe conquistadors in the 1500s speaking of el Dorado,only slightly more realistic.
While rich people ,not just Brits btw, do exist and so do the cars and beautiful women ,that is not the entirety of Dubai but restricted to certain niches which are populated with noveau riche expats and establishment Emiratis. It would be like me going to Beverly Hills and telling the rest of the world that the entire LA metropolitan area is filled with such larger than life plutocrats. And Im not sure that Emirates Airline stewardesses appreciate being referred to as glorified mistresses which was implicit in his description! Dubai's enduring appeal was mostly to the middle class from the Indian subcontinent and countries from the Arab Levant who moved there to take advantage of the zero taxes, (relatively) good wages, entrepreneurial culture and low crime rates.
It is clear he has no idea that this is what drives Dubai and its this middle class composed of engineers,doctors,lawyers,accountants as well as the service sector at the lower end which keeps Dubai moving and helped it survive the 2008-2009 downturn.Most of the expats whose lifestyle mr Mezrich describes so lovingly could barely afford it as there were living on overdrawn credit and took to their heels at the end of 2008 by flying out ASAP so that they wouldnt end up in Dubais infamous debtors prisons.
Mr Mezrich describes women with a longing and a near pornographic caricature which only a nerdy geek who hasnt known a whole lot can.His depictions are adolescent at best and creepy and leering at worst.
It seems he has carved a niche for himself by glorifying Ivy League nerds(like himself) who changed the world and scored some tail while doing it -the last being that awful facebook novel turned into an equally awful movie.
Its pretty hard to believe Mr Mezrich who wrote this unimaginative drivel has a manga cum laude degree from Harvard.
Last but not least- I dont know you are not supposed to judge a book by its cover but cmon! While the covers themselves are so utterly trashy and cheesy ,why shouldeven pick up Mezrichs next book when the previous book could barely live up to its cover!

This book was amazing. I couldn't wait to read the next page. I would say for anyone that loves business this is a must read. As an entrepreneur I was fully engrossed in this capitalist story. Great read.

Based on the true story of a Harvard Graduate who played a part in changing the world of oil, Rigged details a fascinating story about the inner workings of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and the seemingly otherworldly atmosphere that takes place behind the scenes in the country of Dubai. The protagonist David Russo rises up the Merc at a rapid and unpexted rate with a number of twists and turns along the way.

The centerpiece of this book is oil, a product we are all too familiar with. Yet few among us truly has any grasp of the inner workings of oil trading and how the major players operate. That won't be so after you read Rigged, as Mezrich truly uncovers intricate details in nearly all facets; some are shocking, some are disturbing, but most of all they are fascinating. Given the Middle East influence and the post 9/11 tensions, its not difficult to imagine how quickly things can get hairy, and they do. The eventual climax ends with a twist which is made even more enjoyable knowing that the book is based on a true story. Added to this, Mezrich writes in a very laymen and approachable manner making this book a breeze to read.

In the acknowledgements, Ben Mezrich claims that this is the best book he has ever written. I would not agree as I enjoyed some of his other books more, such as "Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions," which was made into the movie, "21," and "The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook: A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal," which was made into a movie as well ("The Social Network").

Mezrich has a niche in nonfiction: his books are about (mostly male) intellectuals who go to Ivy League or quasi-Ivy League schools, who create companies, systems, or new ideas that make them fabulously wealthy with all its accoutrements (women, nightclubs, and lots of cash). The plot for this book is about American David Russo, a Harvard grad who works for the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) or Merc, and Khaled Abdul-Aziz, a Muslim educated in the best schools in Europe and related to the Dubai ruling family, who have the idea to build a commodities exchange in Dubai. This unlikely partnership--created a year after the attacks on the World Trade Center buildings on 09.11.2001--must persuade the Merc board and other traders the benefits of bringing capitalism to the heart of the Middle East.

This book was interesting because I learned a little about the Merc, which traded commodities, predominately oil, and the beautiful city of Dubai (probably the closest I will ever come to visiting that city is through this book and my imagination).

I believe the book is worth reading, although the majority of it leads up to whether the Exchange will be built. I felt the book may have been written prematurely. I want to know how it ends; perhaps, that is left for Rigged II.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would .