{"product_id":"9781470855994","title":"The Spider Network: The Wild Story of a Math Genius, a Gang of Backstabbing Bankers, and One of the Greatest Scams in Financial History","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSHORT-LISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e's award-winning business reporter unveils the bizarre and sinister story of how a math genius named Tom Hayes, a handful of outrageous confederates, and a deeply corrupt banking system ignited one of the greatest financial scandals in history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 2006, an oddball group of bankers, traders and brokers from some of the world’s largest financial institutions made a startling realization: Libor—the London interbank offered rate, which determines interest rates on trillions in loans worldwide—was set daily by a small group of easily manipulated functionaries. Tom Hayes, a brilliant but troubled mathematician, became the lynchpin of shadowy team that used hook and crook to take over the process and set rates that made them a fortune, no matter the cost to others. Among the motley crew was a French trader nicknamed “Gollum”; the broker “Abbo,” who liked to publicly strip naked when drinking; a Kazakh chicken farmer turned something short of financial whiz kid; an executive called “Clumpy” because of his patchwork hair loss; and a broker uncreatively nicknamed “Big Nose.” Eventually known as the “Spider Network,” Hayes’s circle generated untold riches —until it all unraveled in spectacularly vicious, backstabbing fashion.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePraised as reading “\u003c\/i\u003elike a fast-paced John le Carré thriller” (\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e), “compelling” (\u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e)\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand “jaw-dropping” (\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e), \u003ci\u003eThe Spider Network \u003c\/i\u003eis not only a rollicking account of the scam, but a provocative examination of a financial system that was warped and shady throughout. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47064096735472,"sku":"9781470855994","price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781470855994_p0.jpg?v=1763596562","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781470855994","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}