View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Gutfreund's wife, Susan, is spending fifteen million dollars decorating his ______ apartment.

2. What sort of important dinner is the author invited to attend?

3. What is the name of an interview technique designed to test an applicant's nerve?

4. Liar's Poker has a lot in common with what aspect of Wall Street business?

5. What does Lewis see as John Gutfreund's "calling card" as he makes his rounds in the trading floor?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the training class, why does Lewis think Gutfreund looks the part of statesman?

2. What is the difference between managing and trading?

3. How does the code of Liar's Poker affect a trader?

4. How is trading supposedly like the jungle?

5. How does the author manage to get a connection into Salomon Brothers?

6. How does a chaired professor at the London School of Economics react when the author tells him the amount he has been offered to work at Salomon Brothers?

7. What is the hard part of Liar's Poker?

8. The author uses the analogy of two benevolent hands that "stuff the turkey" that Wall Street firms eat the stuffing from. What does he mean by this?

9. Why are corporate financiers considered wimps by traders?

10. What effect does allowing the back row of the Salomon Brothers training program to create anarchy have on the company?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What happens when the author interviews for Lehman Brothers? Why does he interview for Lehman Brothers? Who comes to interview him? What does he say that affects the outcome of the interview? Why is the author perplexed at the reaction the interviewers have to his answer to their question?

Essay Topic 2

Compare the personality traits of Lewie Ranieri and Michael Milken. What is the difference between their careers in regards to their respective companies? Compare the amount of money each person made. Why did one make more money than the other?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the inherent contradictions in John Gutfreund's compensation system. What are the criteria for compensation at Salomon Brothers? Who does he lose as a result of his system? How does this snowball into a bigger problem? Who negotiates a better salary by threatening to leave the company? What reaction does this get from the rest of the company?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 878 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample