Zero Coupon

Takeover artist Willy Saxon returns from prison to Wall Street with a ruthless and beautiful accomplice, an airtight plan, and a tax-free bond worth billions. Reprint. K. PW.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Fun ride
This book is excellent. Erdman writes about money as if it is murder. Very entertaining.

5 Stars A Great Read
This is a fun book. Even if you don’t have an interest in the markets, you can still really enjoy it. Erdman does a great job of explaining the sometimes complicated market elements. And for those with a market bent, the concepts the author interweaves are intriguing and thought-provoking.

4 Stars EYE-OPENING LOOK INTO THE WORLD OF FINANCE
Yes, this is an older book, written after the 1990s Milken – Boesky financial scandals, but it is timely again, with the financial meltdown of 2009. Erdman’s book features an unforgettable character, Willy Saxon, who craves risky financial transactions like some of us crave our favorite ice cream. As the story opens, Willy is just getting out of jail for some previous shady dealings. He doesn’t waste any time setting himself up in a fancy hotel, making friends with a woman whose social standing gives her access to the rich and powerful, and calling on his previous contacts to help him get “back in the game.” He goes to Liechtenstein to claim the millions of dollars he’s stashed away, then begins buying companies, property and equipment and lining up people at a dizzying pace.

I learned about “inverse floaters” and “zero coupons” about which I previously knew nothing. The story is full of the twists and turns of financial products, and though Willy is an many ways an endearing guy who doesn’t get anyone killed, he is still treading on shaky ground. In fact, I kept wondering how I should feel about Willy. He was not an honest person, but, due to good guessing in some heart-stopping events that were the key to either success or another trip to the slammer, Willy emerges triumphant. Yes, he did stuff that was illegal, but he makes everything right. The ending of the story is actually delightful, and I won’t spoil it by relating it here, but I can say I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. And I wonder – did too many Willy Saxons cause our current financial crash? Maybe too many who, unlike Willy, did not make it right?

5 Stars Very Interesting Reading
A very intersting book and a good way to learn about the inner workings of many aspects of finance.

4 Stars Good Book From Erdman!
This book is about international banker Willy Saxon. He is brought down by the junk bond market and has to serve a three year prison sentence.Unlike Boesky and Milken he refuses to turn

state’s evidence.He uses 74 million dollars that he has stashed in Europe to covertly purchase a San Fransisco investment house.

Saxon also purchases a Napa Valley ranch which he turns into a

high tech trading exchange.He makes use of bogus bonds(tax free

zero coupon bond) and runs into problems.He manages to escape this situation by accurately predicting the plunge of the

German mark.Willy also shows traits of becoming quite ladie’s man with some of the wealthy women in San Francisco.This turned

out to be a very interesting book.

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