Customer Reviews

The Wolf of Wall Street

Like all books, they are nothing like the films we see. It was easily readible and leaves you gawping at how not only Jordan Belfont but the majority of profesionnals perfomed their duties. If this was in any other industry then we would have been fired years ago. The book itself did not at all glorify what they were doing, merely explain that it was the norm. It was an open and honest account from someone who just lost themselves whilst at the same time take the mickey out of what he was doing. I recommend the book to all addicts as advice always best from those that have been through it. Funny, Heartful, Touching and Total Madness.

I saw the film without having read the book. It was a fairly good film - typically Scorsese with the music selection and the cinematography although I thought it was a little to long. Di Caprio was very good, as were the supporting actors, many of whom I hadn't really seen before.

I instantly bought the Kindle of the edition and ploughed straight through it. To cut to the chase, it is the autobiography of a guy who makes his millions through a stock broking / investment banking set-up which was immoral at best and downright illegal at worst. I was hoping that it would be a rags-to-riches and back to rags sort of book and fill-in some of the blanks that you expect from a film. It was however somewhat missing - you get the drug abuse, parties, debauched behaviour by his peers and employees and the illegal trading, but you don't get the story of how it all happened - in fact it gavies less of a picture than the film, usually it is the other way around.

Many of the anecdotes from the film are included in the book but they tend to become a little tiring repeated time and time again. When he describes his Rolex or cars, parties, houses, conquests in the bedroom (or wherever it takes his fancy!) it is without any sort of irony or sense that it will wear thin to the reader. It doesn't feel that there is any remorse from the author for the lives that his company ruined by selling worthless stock, the pension funds that might have been hit etc.

I wouldn't suggest reading if easily offended due to the bad language it contains - it doesn't bother me but each to their own. Overall it was OK, perhaps a tale of greed and debauchery it was interesting - not greatly written but if you enjoyed the film the chances are you might enjoy the book. I don't think passing a moral judgement of an individual is a valid category on which to judge a book - the 3 stars represent that is is an interesting read and I've not read any accounts of broker millionaires before, if I was to award a points based on the antagonist/protagonist Jordan Belfort it would be a 1 star!

A great read. It had me hooked from first page to last.
A riotous life story, not to say squirm-inducing at times.
Can't wait to read its sequel

Downloaded for my husband but he's given up on it. Found it a bit of a lightweight read and he likes them a bit more gritty

This is a long self justification from someone who did a lot of people a lot of damage. Written so badly it is hard to see why he bothered or where was the fun in it. Given what he "achieved" he must be a very interesting individual with an incredible brain. But you would not guess it from the book. No real apology for the lives destroyed, the money taken or the friends betrayed.

This is a book you can't put down. Buy it, read it, then go and see the film. This is one true story which goes further than fantasy. Brilliant! :-D

Hands down one of the best books of all time!!

I haven't read something so interesting in an extremely long time, i was hooked to the book as if it was a drug and when it was coming to a close i found myself wishing there were more pages to turn. The book is written extremely well and brings every little scene and event to life with the deep explanations and descriptions of the emotions and characters that are within the book.

The fact that this is all based on true events still amazes me. A must read for anyone!

Fascinating story in lots of ways - but often found myself turning pages without bothering to read them but this is mainly due to having no knowledge (or real interest) of the language/mechanics of the world of finance, but I did enjoy it & did finish it.

unbelievable read from start to finish. had this read in less than a week, would recommend it to any business savvy student or anyone interested in the faces behind big business

The book tells the story of Jordon Belfont, the "Wolf of Wall Street", a guy who seems to have made insane amounts of money in not strictly legal ways, and then blew as much as he could on drugs, boats, drugs, planes, drugs, prostitutes and, well... more drugs!

And that's pretty much the book, a retelling of how he spent his money, and how the drugs made him feel, before the final crash.

The thing is it missed what I find the most interesting thing in these sorts of books or films, the climb before the fall.

The book starts off with the young Jordon at his first day at Wall Street, flat broke and in awe of all the big-shots and money around him. The chapter ends by Jordon describing how, if you had told him then, he wouldn't have believed that in a few years time he'd employ most of his seniors, and own the posh restaurant he was having lunch in.

Great set up for how he did it, but it never comes. The book jumps straight to him being incredibly successful, with a raging drug habit! It misses what could have been a really interesting ride.

The rest of the book is tales of his debauched lifestyle and eventual re-hab, interesting enough, but there's just too much of it. You do feel a bit bored come the end, which seems to be slightly rushed.

All in all it's an OK read, but could have been so much better. Worth a punt if you've got a long journey and enjoy reading about someone's debauched life.

It's apparently being made into a film, in which case I think it's going to need some padding.