Flash Crash

A Trading Savant, a Global Manhunt, and the Most Mysterious Market Crash in History

By: Liam Vaughan

Narrated by: Liam Vaughan

"[An] extraordinary tale." (Wall Street Journal)

"Compelling [and] engaging." (Financial Times)

"Magnificently detailed yet pacy.... Think Trading Places meets Wall Street." (Sunday Times, UK)

The riveting story of a trading prodigy who amassed $70 million from his childhood bedroom — until the US government accused him of helping trigger an unprecedented market collapse.

On May 6, 2010, financial markets around the world tumbled simultaneously and without warning. In the span of five minutes, a trillion dollars of valuation was lost. The Flash Crash, as it became known, represented what was then the fastest drop in market history. When share values rebounded less than half an hour later, experts around the globe were left perplexed. What had they just witnessed?

Navinder Singh Sarao hardly seemed like a man who would shake the world's financial markets to their core. Raised in a working-class neighborhood in West London, Nav was a preternaturally gifted trader who played the markets like a computer game. By the age of 30, he had left behind London's "trading arcades", working instead out of his childhood home. For years, the money poured in. But when lightning-fast electronic traders infiltrated markets and started eating into his profits, Nav built a system of his own to fight back. It worked - until 2015, when the FBI arrived at his door. Depending on whom you ask, Sarao was a scourge, a symbol of a financial system run horribly amok, or a folk hero who took on the tyranny of Wall Street and the high-frequency traders.

A real-life financial thriller, Flash Crash uncovers the remarkable, behind-the-scenes narrative of a mystifying market crash, a globe-spanning investigation into international fraud, and a man at the center of them both.

©2020 Liam Vaughan (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Until now, the Flash Crash of 2010, where a trillion dollars seemingly vaporized in the span of just five minutes, was one of Wall Street's biggest mysteries. Liam Vaughan's fast-paced, richly detailed financial thriller tells the real story of how it happened, who was at the center of it, and what it all means. You'll want to read it in one sitting." (Bethany McLean, coauthor of The Smartest Guys in the Room)

"An elegant and fast-paced narrative about one of the more obscure and mysterious financial anomalies. Through meticulous reporting and a gripping story, Vaughan has filled in many of the missing pieces. You won’t be able to put it down." (William D. Cohan, author of Four Friends and House of Cards)

"A fascinating journey through the heart of the financial markets and the battle between man and machine in the search for trading profits." (Bradley Hope, coauthor of Billion Dollar Whale)

Original, thrilling, and well written.

The author does not parse out details that could be too niche, and instead takes time to explain technical details.

Great Story Told in an Unassuming Way...

As good as Vaughan's written words are, his spoken words are even better! Was a pleasure to listen to. A very interesting story and one that needs to be told.

Absolutely fantastic - Definitely a must-read

This has to rank at the highest echelon, definitely among most enjoyable audiobooks I have heard - and I have almost 1,000 books in my Audible library. At the same time, it is also very thought-provoking and impactful. It is an absolutely outstanding work of non-fiction, written as an extremely accessible and interesting account of the trader who ostensibly caused the Flash crash of May 2010. It is very difficult to stop listening to this audiobook once one starts. As a Professor of Finance with extensive work in market microstructure, I can say that the author displays an excellent understanding of the trading and regulatory framework underlying the activities of the trader, and has done a fabulous job of presenting technicalities very accessibly and at the same time, meaningfully. I also thoroughly enjoyed the author himself reading the book. I am so happy I got this as soon as it came out. Kudos to Liam Vaughan. A movie is also reported to be forthcoming.

Awesome story

loved this tale. Hope to see more from this author. So interesting to hear about how one man was able to take on HFT firms by himself. Also disturbing is how the U.S government is willing to sacrifice small players like Nav to satisfy public need for blood in the wake of the flash crash. Great book couldn't turn it off.

WSB MOD Autobiography - How to guide

This is a wonderful how to book. Not sure why more people haven’t purchased it. At least a million people on r/wallstreetbets should should have it on audio while riding there peloton’s to Game Stop.

Good read

Flashboys is better, but still an entertaining story of how financial markets works, and how a single individual can have a tremendous impact.

Well Told What Could Have Been a Complicated Story

Super easy to follow. Well done. I started it with trepidation not sure I could follow along if it got too into the weeds and intricacies of what happened. It is well layed out and easy to understand. What a story

Good on all fronts: legal, tech, story, psych

... and the performance is great too. The author's fine focus and lack of pretension is refreshing in a field crowded with flashy and relatively empty offerings. I was puzzled at the news stories I had seen of the original events, and this book unfolded a much deeper and wider story in all its dimensions. The main character is surprisingly relatable to one, like me, who shares some of those traits.

Fascinating story of a genius trader

Loved the story. I couldn’t stop listening to this fascinating account of a talented trader who defied all odds and disregarded all rules and regulations to become wealthy.

Captivating and provoking

Navinder’s story is one of a kind. Thanks to the author for familiarizing me with it. That’s a pity that Navinder never talked to the author: this just confirms how unjust life is. Such injustices are inseparable from the way we live. And we can live no other way. What we experience is always followed by some good and some bad.
There always have to be bright sparks of happiness in every story at least for a balance. This story is no exception: I enjoyed Navinder’s goes at American burgers and the minutes he was showing his work to the agents. I like the fact that the prosecution ended quite mildly for him and that the case raised the authorities’ awareness about such crimes. Though Navinder does not look like a criminal, he is not nice either. I sympathize with his story anyway.