The Futures

The Rise of the Speculator and the Origins of the World's Biggest Markets

By: Emily Lambert

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

In The Futures, Emily Lambert, senior writer at Forbes magazine, tells us the rich and dramatic history of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade, which together comprised the original, most bustling futures market in the world. She details the emergence of the futures business as a kind of meeting place for gamblers and farmers and its subsequent transformation into a sophisticated electronic market where contracts are traded at lightning-fast speeds.

Lambert also details the disastrous effects of Wall Street's adoption of the futures contract without the rules and close-knit social bonds that had made trading it in Chicago work so well. Ultimately, Lambert argues that the futures markets are the real "free" markets, and that speculators, far from being mere parasites, can serve a vital economic and social function, given the right architecture. The traditional futures market, she explains, because of its written and cultural limits, can serve as a useful example for how markets ought to work and become a tonic for our current financial ills.

©2010 Emily Lambert (P)2010 Audible, Inc

Great concept, but falls short

This had a superficial sort of postcard or store-window quality to it. It was as if a tourist dropped in and took snapshots of people, so we get to see how tall they are, what their brother's name is, when they showed up, but the deeper stuff, the substantive workings and mechanics of these markets, the deal details, the most intense inner contraditions and conflicts, seem lacking. This seems almost a sentimental journey. I can stand this narrator's voice, but find it harsh and grating, something I would be happy to overlook for the sake of better content.

Superlative work , Excellent performance.<br />

Excellent account of free market creation. Very well written with a superior , impeccable delivery by L.J. Ganser.

Good history and well told, good narrative

This provides a good basic history of futures markets in Chicago. It is also written well, good narrative which made it easy to read.

Audio and Chapter not in sync

Reading says chapter number that is one off from where the visual says we are. Which is correct?

Should've Listened To A & P Instead

Not what I was looking for. There's nothing technical in here. Instead, it's an occasionally stimulating history of various futures markets (focusing on Chicago and traders) but since that's not what I wanted, I kind of wish I would've read that history of the A & P grocery stores.