-
Get a Free Issue
of our Ezine!
Summary | Excerpt | Reviews | Beyond the book | Read-Alikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio
Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld
by Jake Halpern
Book Reviewed by:A vital exposé that is also a bravura feat of storytelling.
The Federal Trade Commission receives more complaints about rogue debt collecting than about any activity besides identity theft. Dramatically and entertainingly, Bad Paper reveals why. It tells the story of Aaron Siegel, a former banking executive, and Brandon Wilson, a former armed robber, who become partners and go in quest of "paper" - the uncollected debts that are sold off by banks for pennies on the dollar. As Aaron and Brandon learn, the world of consumer debt collection is an unregulated shadowland where operators often make unwarranted threats and even collect debts that are not theirs.
Introducing an unforgettable cast of strivers and rogues, Jake Halpern chronicles their lives as they manage high-pressure call centers, hunt for paper in Las Vegas casinos, and meet in parked cars to sell the social security numbers and account information of unsuspecting consumers. He also tracks a "package" of debt that is stolen by unscrupulous collectors, leading to a dramatic showdown with guns in a Buffalo corner store. Along the way, he reveals the human cost of a system that compounds the troubles of hardworking Americans and permits banks to ignore their former customers. The result is a vital exposé that is also a bravura feat of storytelling.
1
THE $14 MILLION GAMBLE
In 2005, when he was thirty-one years old, Aaron Siegel decided to leave his job on Wall Street and move back to his hometown. He was drawn to Buffalo—the self-proclaimed "city of no illusions"—because of its modest scale, its historic neighborhoods, and its general lack of pretension. After so much time in Manhattan and London, something about Buffalo was refreshingly real. What's more, the Siegel family name meant something there and it lent Aaron not just credibility or prestige, but a sense that he belonged—that he mattered. Aaron returned to Buffalo, along with his wife, who was also from upstate New York, and he took a job at a local division of Bank of America specializing in private wealth management. He resolved to stay there until he could figure something else out. The only problem was that he had almost no work to do. "I spent my days spinning around in a chair and throwing pencils at the ceiling," Aaron said. "There was nothing ...
Bad Paper is smart reportage written in an engaging, fast-paced narrative style. Despite the mention of Wall Street in the title, it is mercifully free of confusing financial jargon. This is a well-told true-life tale. But with its kaleidoscopic cast of characters and a storyline that would be the envy of any Hollywood blockbuster, it is also an irresistibly thrilling read...continued
Full Review
(764 words)
(Reviewed by Sinéad Fitzgibbon).
David Grann, author of The Lost City of Z and staff writer for The New Yorker
Bad Paper is a riveting tale, fast-paced and filled with unforgettable characters. It is also a deeply reported and powerful exploration of America's shadow economy. Joseph Finder, bestselling author of Suspicion and Paranoia
Bad Paper is nonfiction that reads like the finest thriller: suspenseful and frightening, eye-opening, and even, at times, funny. Jake Halpern's fascinating, fearless tour of the underworld of debt collections introduces us to a cast of characters - the (mostly) men behind the scary phone calls - who deserve to be the stars of the next great HBO drama.In Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld, Jake Halpern examines the afterlife of a debt once it has been declared "bad." But is there ever such a thing as a 'good' debt? What would you do if you won a million dollars? Would you buy that grand house you've always dreamed of? Or the big sports car? Perhaps you'd give to charity or put the money aside for your children's future? We all indulge in daydreams like this from time to time; who among us hasn't thought about the things we could buy if only we could afford them? For the most part, this kind of thinking is nothing more than harmless escapism; a little light relief from the daily grind. Sometimes, however, the line between fantasy and...
If you liked Bad Paper, try these:
by Christopher Leonard
Published 2020
Just as Steve Coll told the story of globalization through ExxonMobil and Andrew Ross Sorkin told the story of Wall Street excess through Too Big to Fail, Christopher Leonard's Kochland uses the extraordinary account of how one of the biggest private companies in the world grew to be that big to tell the story of modern corporate America.
by John Carreyrou
Published 2020
The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of Theranos, the multibillion-dollar biotech startup, by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end, despite pressure from its charismatic CEO and threats by her lawyers.
Pony Confidential
by Christina Lynch
In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.
.png)
They say that in the end truth will triumph, but it's a lie.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!