When the Lehman Brothers bank collapsed, the world froze. One of the largest and most successful banking institutions, its fall triggered the global economy's descent into a Second Great Depression. This is the gripping inside story of the shadowy characters who ruled Lehman, refusing to heed warnings that the company was headed onto the rocks. The extraordinary mid-level people who bravely struggled to change Lehman's disastrous course. A whistle-blowing account that answers the question everyone is still asking: "Why did it happen?" Larry McDonald, a former Vice President of Lehman Brothers responsible for distressed debt and convertible securities trading, was at the center of the company's meltdown and offers an intimate view into the chaos that became Lehman. This book convincingly shows that Richard Fuld, Lehman's long-time CEO, and his top managers were completely out of touch, allowing Lehman's risk profile to reach gargantuan heights. While traders like Larry McDonald clearly predicted more than two years in advance that the market for mortgage bundles and credit default swaps would vanish, Lehman's senior managers drove the company hard into the ground right up until the end.