Going Infinite

The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon

By: Michael Lewis

Narrated by: Michael Lewis

Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

With a new afterword on Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial and its aftermath

One of the New Yorker’s Best Books of 2023 • One of PureWow’s 42 Books to Gift in 2023 This Year • One of Fortune’s Best Crypto Books of 2023

“Going Infinite is in many ways Lewis at his best. He marshals a complex global story without losing sight of the delightful and revealing human details. He is a world-class noticer.” ―Jesse Armstrong, writer and creator of HBO’s Succession, Times Literary Supplement

“A stupefyingly pleasurable book to read.” ―Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker

“Going Infinite is an instant classic.” ―Helen Lewis, The Atlantic

“Going Infinite is wildly entertaining, surprising multiple times on pretty much every page, but it adds up to a sad story, even a tragedy, for its central character and for all the people who lost so much thanks to his actions.” ―John Lanchester, London Review of Books

“Will join Digital Gold as one of the all-time best crypto books.”―Jeff John Roberts, Fortune

“A wry, engaging writer and a gifted storyteller.” ―Julia M. Klein, Los Angeles Times

“It may be easy to take for granted how entertainingly [Michael Lewis] pulls it off again in Going Infinite.” ―Brett Martin, GQ

From the best-selling author of The Big Short and Flash Boys, the story of FTX’s spectacular collapse and the enigmatic founder at its center.

When Michael Lewis first met him, Sam Bankman-Fried was the world’s youngest billionaire and crypto’s Gatsby. CEOs, celebrities, and leaders of small countries all vied for his time and cash after he catapulted, practically overnight, onto the Forbes billionaire list. Who was this rumpled guy in cargo shorts and limp white socks, whose eyes twitched across Zoom meetings as he played video games on the side?

In Going Infinite Lewis sets out to answer this question, taking readers into the mind of Bankman-Fried, whose rise and fall offers an education in high-frequency trading, cryptocurrencies, philanthropy, bankruptcy, and the justice system. Both psychological portrait and financial roller-coaster ride, Going Infinite is Michael Lewis at the top of his game, tracing the mind-bending trajectory of a character who never liked the rules and was allowed to live by his own―until it all came undone.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Michael Lewis (P)2023 Audible, Inc.

Not accurate and immature

It’s a fun short read but this is nothing more than a love letter to SBF. very inappropriate and disappointing

Seems rushed

It seems like Lewis rushed this out to take advantage of the headlines. Many events are covered, but with little, if any, transition. The plethora of individual events is not tied together as well as I had hoped; I had to re-read several passages to see where they fit into the narrative. His conclusions are also not as flushed out as I had expected. Overall, the title was worth the time and credits, but it was not quite the definitive narrative of the scandal I had hoped for. I also cannot find much insight into the legal case against SBF or FTX. Some of the legal and ethical conclusions in the book were also weak; I don't know if I would cite this as a source in any coursework.

Dysfunctional syndrome

Very disturbing reflection on generational blindness to real world order vs game theory. Sad all around.

Great insights into human nature

The description of probability games were the most interesting. I loved the author's description and disdain of the attorneys and their superficial understanding of very complex topics yet they were the ones to supposedly clean up the mess

Great read fun to learn about sbf

I guess I was part of the space during most of this so I felt very close to all of the facts in the text.

Pretty Mediocre

Those expecting your usual Michael Lewis story diving into multiple perspectives to weave an amazing story will be disappointed by this book which is essentially an autobiography of SBF.

As biographies go, it’s a mid tier work which tells a good story but seems to largely avoid other or critical perspectives of the subject as you would see in a Walter Isaacson book for example and leaves many areas unexplored and questions unanswered.

It’s still a worthwhile story and am glad I listened to it, but far less than I expected when I purchased it. You wonder if this book was released later if a more full perspective could have been presented. I wish there was a deeper dive into (1) CZ, (2) an exploration into charitable donations SBF made, if any, and (3) any perspective on whether the effective altruism was just a means to an end of looking good while banking billions.

Alas, we don’t get that and the book feels more like an act 1 than the full story.

I still have so many questions…

Not only did it seem like Lewis was too close to the story for his own good, which seemed to obfuscate the fact this was the biggest corporate crime in history, but the story just ENDS. There is little to no tying of all the loose ends. I enjoyed the first half and background, but then the whole collapse of FTX takes place in 1-2 final rushed chapters. Pretty disappointing to be honest.

Loved it from start to finish

Like all of Michael Lewis’s books the perspectives and insight provided in this book made me not able to put it down. Lewis is a masterful financial writer able to shine light into a world that most people never would step foot in.

Like Liars Poker it shows perspectives of a truly unique world where specialized information, connections, genius and creativity thrive.

Most of the negative reviews were probably looking to justify the media’s sensational demonic portrayal of SBF being a calculated criminal.

Thank you Michael Lewis for another amazing book can’t wait for your next adventure.

Another must read from Michael Lewis

Lewis can really tell a story and explains crypto so the layman can understand. A great read!

flawless as usual,

Michael Lewis was born a writer who by accident worked in finance and that makes him the best financial writer