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"Inside the Minds" is one of the most informative books I've read about investment banking aside from my Corporate Finance textbooks. The question and answer interview format made the text highly readable. Answers were filled less with managerial jargon and more with nuts-to-bolts advice on how to be a successful banker. Many of the books I've found about banking are either about how to get into the business or about deal mechanics. "Inside" focuses on what personal values help one succeed as a banker, and how to ensure longevity in the industry. "Inside the Minds" is similar to "Market Wizards," by Jack Schwager, only it's about banking (not trading). Both were entirely fascinating, and I'm still looking for more books like them.

This is a great book on the "insider" world of investment banking - applicable for both current and aspiring investment bankers, seasoned veterans, and anyone interested in how investment bankers operate. Having been in banking for 10 years at a tier 1 investment banking firm, this is the first insider account of investment banking I have read. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in investment banking.

This is stuff you can't get from the recruiting website. Read this guide if you really want to impress our interviewer with knowledgable responses, including why you really want to work for Merrill Lynch.

Money well spent on a guide that's chock full of research, stats, tables, rankings, insider quotes, profiles, info on the recruiting process, training opps, recommended reading, and more! Wow! I've definitely gained a great deal from reading this guide and feel I'm that much closer to nailing the interviews (now that I know what that involves!) and getting into Merrill. It's definitely one of the top runners in terms of where I'd like to see myself in the next year!

I agree that the story is sad and the author got the short end. That said, this isn't the Greek Tragedy that some seem to imply, nor is it a realistic account of David versus Goliath in the strictest sense.

First, Mr. Schooley brought much of the mess on himself. Not for raising the issues and bringing them to the attention of Merrill Lynch's management, but for hiding behind a facade of ethics and integrity while refusing to meet the company's internal investigators half way. Would that have compromised his ethics or integrity? I don't believe so.

Merrill Lynch's first responses seemed to include a sincere effort to resolve the complaints to the satisfaction of all. While Mr. Schooley refused to budge from his demands which he claims were based on integrity, he also had strange ideas about integrity. While he was rolling dice with his family's future by rocking the boat, he neglected to let his wife in on what he was doing. That is deceit, not integrity and is only different from adultery is degree.

Second, this book is supposed to be evidence placed in the court of public opinion. Yes, the public will side with Mr. Schooley because we always root for the underdog and he was treated unfairly. If he thinks that this book will make a difference in Merrill Lynch's bottom line I contend that he's naive. The public will do what the public does. They'll feel sorry for him, but will not hesitate for a second to follow Merrill Lynch's investment advice if it'll make them money. That's the way life works.

Third, I take issue with the claims made by Mr. Schooley and the attorney who wrote the forward that arbitration is a bad thing. From personal experience I think arbitration is useful, especially in our society where we litigate at the drop of the hat. Of course an attorney is going to oppose arbitration because in most suits the only winners are the attorneys.

I do recommend this book because does have lessons to be learned. What those lessons mean is up to you. The story reads well in spite of bogging down in places in the beginning. It has the usual metaphors reported by others: Greek tragedy, Biblical David versus Goliath, and the more philosophical Good vs. Evil. It even has a bit of Karmic irony. After Mr. Schooley's life started falling apart which included a divorce his ex-wife went to work for Merrill Lynch. What it doesn't have is anything that will cause the same outrage as the Enron debacle. You'll have to look elsewhere for that kind of story.

What happens if a stand-up kind of guy decides to follow the written code of ethics in his brokerage firm? Welll, the result is as if you sent a cub scout to join a den of vipers.

Keith Schooley, tired of the rollercoaster world of oil investing in Oklahoma, turned his hardworking skills to brokering for Merrill Lynch. He did well on all his exams, he was one of the top 10 rookie producers for his area. He read all the required codes of behavior and ethics as set down by the brokerage industry, and monitored by the SEC and the NSAD, the internal brokerage self-regulating body.

Schooley soon found out that his office co-workers and supervisors were playing a bit fast and loose with their own guidelines in order to pass exams and win contests. When Schooley notified Merrill Lynch of violations of the ethics code as set down in their own documentation, his findings were hardly received with cries of joy. Rather, a cover-up on the scale of the Watergate break-in resulted.

While the violations that Schooley uncovered were not of the type that got Michael Milliken and Ivan Boesky in trouble, they were disturbing. Financial institutions hold themselves to a strict code (theoretically) of behavior because they deal with other people's money. This is why the words "fidelity" and "fiduciary" and "trust" are adjectives in so many financial institution names. Their self-regulating bodies and the SEC are supposed to watch over their activities and punish unacceptable behavior. But "quis custodiet custodes ipsos?" or "who's watching the watchers?" The effectiveness of the self-regulating NSAD was a bit like asking the mastiff to guard the roast.

Schooley became obsessed with getting justice and setting things to rights. He ended up escalating the incidents to the point where his entire life was consumed.

What's interesting about this book is NOT the nature of the scandal; frankly this is small beans compared to some of the violations we've seen in the courts. What is interesting is the peek into the inner world of a regional brokerage office. The culture encourages contests "pour le sport" that is, just for the joy of winning; the prizes were nothing these guys couldn't have put on their platinum cards. The contests were a way to one-up the next guy and for the bigger bosses to enrich their bonuses. As far as taking care of the customer, including doing all in the customer's best interest and fully informing a client about the financial products they were investing in, that was not even a consideration. As one supervisor put it "Just sell."

Why read this book? The arbitration proceedings, which form a greater part of the book, are interesting to see how these guys operate. The view into a brokerage office will make you think again about the trust and faith you may be putting in your own broker. More Latin: Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware.)

Memoirs are necessarily selective and subjective. They simply cannot cover everything as they share the thoughts and feelings as well as the perspectives and opinions of their author. to the extent that author wishes to share them (selectively). My own experience suggests that, in the "alley" of contemporary business, most of the "cats" are gray. It is therefore important to keep in mind that this is Schooley's account of what he believes happened...and did not happen...during his association with Merrill Lynch and thereafter. To his credit, he draws upon as many primary and secondary sources as possible to establish what he calls the "record," one which "can speak for itself."

What does it say? First, that an earnest, eager, and ambitious young man went to work for Merrill Lynch with the proverbial "high hopes" and "great expectations"; by the time he concluded his relationship, he had lost all respect for Merrill Lynch's organizational integrity. In this book, he explains why. Also, various circumstances and developments forced him to conduct rigorous soul-searching. Was he naive? Were his requests unreasonable? Should he have conducted himself differently? Was it all worth it to challenge such a large and powerful organization? Schooley responds to these and other questions in his book. Finally, the book says (to me at least) that it is difficult but not impossible for an individual to initiate and then sustain such a challenge. Perilous? Of course. Doomed to failure? Not necessarily.

Dante reserved the last (and worst) ring in hell for those who, in a moral crisis, preserve their neutrality. According to Schooley, there were many senior-level executives within the Merrill Lynch organization who did so as did officials at various regulatory agencies. I admire Schooley's efforts to act upon his principles when he composed a memorandum for Merrill Lynch's senior managers, informing them of various improprieties and possible illegalities as well as efforts to conceal them. I admire his efforts even more after he was dismissed and then threatened with litigation unless he remained silent (i.e. preserving his neutrality). His personal as well as professional sacrifices were numerous and substantial. Nonetheless, he persevered.

As Schooley's reader, I have no reason to question his sincerity or integrity and am unqualified to comment on the merits of his allegations. Nor do I presume to suggest that his book will achieve all of the objectives he had in mind when he wrote it. (Organizations as large and complicated as Merrill Lynch remind me of the fact that "jumbo" oil tankers must travel approximately 30 miles to reverse their direction.) I rate this book so highly because I think it raises a number of questions which must be addressed by senior-level corporate executives, especially now as other allegations are made by other Schooleys in their respective organizations. Schooley obviously believes that our society needs more "white cats" and fewer "black "cats," not only in the private sector but in publicly-funded regulatory agencies which have fiduciary responsibility to all citizens. Within the limitations of the memoir genre, I think this is a brilliant achievement.

The only similarity between this book and Liar's Poker is that they are both about Wall Street. Rather than blame himself for seeking out and then accepting a job he knew he was ill-prepared for, in a city he knew nothing about, Stiles blames everyone and everything else. This, in essence, is why Stiles never made it. NYC and Wall Street are not the types of places for people who are always waiting for something to come to them - you have to go out and get it.

Stiles book has some interesting passages, though it is very clear that he still does not understand why it didn't all work out. Despite the fact that he was "never trained", his passages about the Mexican Peso devaluation and the Orange County Scandal are good summaries. If you work on Wall Street, this book will be entertaining. If you are thinking of working on Wall Street and are as naive as Stiles about "the life", this book will be useful. Otherwise, take a pass and read Michael Lewis's Liar's Poker.

I found Riding the Bull a very valuable read. Certainly, it is well written and captures the events and emotions of the author's year on Wall Street genuinely and naturally. I happen to be a bond trader, and while reading the book on a recent weekend getaway from the "megalopolis," I could definitely identify with Mr. Stiles. Over the last year, my job satisfaction has steadily declined, even as my pay has risen. Every day, I dread dragging myself to the office for another battle against "the market." After reading this book, I was suddenly aware of the changes that had taken place in me, in the same way that they happened to author. I had just never noticed before. I still haven't decided what to do exactly. Like the author, I have conversations with myself, where I come up with excuses not to quit, trying to rationalize my choice of money over happiness. This is not a pleasant thing to discover about myself. I'm certainly not asking for compassion, because I made these choices. And I hope this doesn't sound like more yuppie whining. All I am saying is that for me, Riding the Bull rang true, too true. And it is making me see things in a different light. Isn't that what a great book should do?

This book is a true to life description of the Merrill Lynch culture. Stiles has absolutely "nailed" the Merrill work experience right down to the day to day relationships between co-workers.

For those considering employment in the world's largest brokerage firm - give it a read. You will not regret it. It is an eye-opener.