Sicilian Sunset

**A vivid, blistering memoir that takes readers inside the high-stakes drama and hubris of the trading floor, a rags-to-riches tale of Citibank’s one-time most profitable trader, and why he gave it all up****“Darker than [__Liar’s Poker__], but if anything even more of a rollicking read . . . the clearest account I've ever read of how trading desks really work.”—Felix Salmon, __Axios__**__If you were gonna rob a bank and you saw the vault door there, left open, what would you do? Would you wait around?__ Ever since he was a kid, kicking broken soccer balls on the run-down streets of East London, Gary Stevenson dreamed of something bigger. As luck would have it, he was good at numbers. At the London School of Economics, wearing tracksuits and sneakers, Stevenson shocked his posh classmates by winning a competition called “The Trading Game.” The prize?: a golden ticket to a new life, as the... A vivid, blistering memoir that takes readers inside the high-stakes drama and hubris of the trading floor, a rags-to-riches tale of Citibank’s one-time most profitable trader, and why he gave it all up “Darker than [ Liar’s Poker ], but if anything even more of a rollicking read . . . the clearest account I've ever read of how trading desks really work.”—Felix Salmon, Axios If you were gonna rob a bank and you saw the vault door there, left open, what would you do? Would you wait around? Ever since he was a kid, kicking broken soccer balls on the run-down streets of East London, Gary Stevenson dreamed of something bigger. As luck would have it, he was good at numbers. At the London School of Economics, wearing tracksuits and sneakers, Stevenson shocked his posh classmates by winning a competition called “The Trading Game.” The prize?: a golden ticket to a new life, as the youngest trader at Citibank. A place where you could make more money than you’d ever imagined. Where your colleagues are dysfunctional geniuses and insecure bullies yet start to feel like family. Where against the odds you become the bank’s most profitable trader, closing deals worth nearly a trillion dollars. A day . Soon you are dreaming of numbers in your sleep—and then you stop sleeping at all. But what happens when winning starts to feel like losing? You’re making a killing betting on millions of people becoming poorer—like the very people you grew up with. The economy is slipping off a precipice, and your own sanity starts slipping with it. You want to stop, but you can’t. Because nobody ever leaves . Would you stick, or quit? Even if it meant risking everything? The Trading Game is an outrageous, unvarnished, white-knuckle journey to the dark heart of an intoxicating world—the trading floor—from someone who survived the game and then blew it all wide open. A vivid, blistering memoir that takes readers inside the high-stakes drama and hubris of the trading floor, a rags-to-riches tale of Citibanks one-time most profitable trader, and why he gave it all upa Liars Poker for a new generation If you were gonna rob a bank, and you saw the vault door there, left open, what would you do?Would you wait around? Ever since he was a kid, kicking broken soccer balls on the streets of East London in the shadow of Canary Wharf, Gary Stevenson dreamed of something bigger. And he was good at numbers. At the London School of Economics, Gary, wearing tracksuits and sneakers, shocked his posh classmates by winning a competition called The Trading Game. The a golden ticket to a new life, as the youngest trader at Citibank. A place where you could make more money than youd ever imagined. Where your colleagues are dysfunctional geniuses and insecure bullies, yet they start to feel like family. Where against the odds you become the banks most profitable trader, closing deals worth nearly a trillion dollars. A day . Soon you are dreaming of numbers in your sleepand then you stop sleeping at all. What happens when winning starts to feel like losing? Its 2008 and now you have a front-row seat to the global financial crisis. A time when the easiest way to make money is to bet on millions becoming poorerlike the very people you grew up with. The economy is slipping off a precipice, and your own sanity starts slipping with it. You want to stop, but you cant. Because nobody ever leaves . Would you stick, or quit? Even if it meant risking everything? This is an outrageous, unvarnished, white-knuckle journey to the dark heart of an intoxicating worldfrom someone who survived the game and then blew it all wide open.