Dark Pools

The Rise of the Machine Traders and the Rigging of the U.S. Stock Market

By: Scott Patterson

Narrated by: Byron Wagner

A news-breaking account of the global stock market's subterranean battles, Dark Pools portrays the rise of the "bots" - artificially intelligent systems that execute trades in milliseconds and use the cover of darkness to out-maneuver the humans who've created them.

In the beginning was Josh Levine, an idealistic programming genius who dreamed of wresting control of the market from the big exchanges that, again and again, gave the giant institutions an advantage over the little guy. Levine created a computerized trading hub named Island where small traders swapped stocks, and over time his invention morphed into a global electronic stock market that sent trillions in capital through a vast jungle of fiber-optic cables.

By then, the market that Levine had sought to fix had turned upside down, birthing secretive exchanges called dark pools and a new species of trading machines that could think and that seemed, ominously, to be slipping the control of their human masters.

Dark Pools is the fascinating story of how global markets have been hijacked by trading robots - many so self-directed that humans can't predict what they'll do next.

©2012 Scott Patterson (P)2012 Random House Audio

Good introduction to high speed trading

I listened to it last summer and enjoyed it very much. Would recommend it to anyone interested in knowing high speed trading.

Think you understand Wall Street? Guess again

High-speed trading has revolutionized the stock market over the last 10 years and brought with it a whole array of risks, including flash crashes. And it could get worse as the computer-driven system becomes increasingly autonomous and too complex for people to understand.

This book tells the story of how it happened.

Race between human creativity and greed

If you could sum up Dark Pools in three words, what would they be?

Very inspiring nonfiction

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dark Pools?

The whole career of Joshua Levine

Have you listened to any of Byron Wagner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't

If you could give Dark Pools a new subtitle, what would it be?

There is a silent war going on

Eye opening and must read!

This book highlights a lot of the problems with today’s stock market. It shows how far we’ve come with technology but unfortunately how simple it is for it to come off the rails. While the book is very interesting and entertaining, it provides concrete evidence how the game is rigged. They explain how current piping of the market makes a sucker out of the buyer and the seller at the same time. A must read!

Great insight into the securities trading world

A great explanation about the evolvement, modernisation and operation of securities trading. The audiobook is easy to listen to and understand.

Almost a history of high frequency trading

I was expecting to learn explicitly about dark pools. I did. But there is so much more! The cast of characters. The innocence of youth and brains. The hubris of old wealthy men.

I’d listen again.

Beyond Flash Boys

If you read Michael Lewis' "Flash Boys" you were introduced to the high frequency trading world. But that book left out a lot of the details and covered none of the history. This book will explain how the current, computer driven stock market came from and fill in the details on how it works. Fascinating and dangerous.

Great book!

Fantastic research and great storytelling. Lays bare how Wall Street can rip-off average investors. Now what I'd like to see is the sequel.

WOW

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes if they invest

What did you like best about this story?

The shocking reality of how fundamentals are arbitrary

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Dark Pools: iFolly

Any additional comments?

outstanding book for any investor. This knowledge needs to be more widespread

Good Timeline Analysis of HFT Beginnings

Good timeline analysis of how high frequency trading began and evolved through natural competition and government regulations. The book provides some technical details behind how HFT and dark pools operate behind the scenes, but it's mostly generalized overviews. Crazy to see technologies considered modern today were being used by these guys 10+ years ago.