I wanted to read Monkey Business as I used to consider investment banking as a career and wondered if the tremendous investment of time and money was worth it. The answer, according to authors Rolfe and Troob, is a resounding "NO." You will probably make a lot of money once you do get in. But ultimately it's not worth it, not by a long shot.
Written during the height of dot-com mania, the authors pull no punches in proceeding to lambaste almost every aspect of the house of money formerly known as Donaldson, Lufkin, and Jenrette, as well as the entire investment banking industry. It's an episode of "Behind the Music - Wall Street", that strips away the Hollywood notion of the wealthy, jet-setting investment banker and exposes the underbelly of tedious boredom, bureaucracy, posturing, and incompetence that make up this awful work environment. The book is so strong in its criticisms that I'm surprised Rolfe and Troob weren't sued for libel. Given all the Wall Street scandals making the headlines lately, they'd probably get their money back.
Colorful language is an understatement. By the end of the book, the guys are doing calculations to determine the "expected value" of attempting to bed a banking assistant at the holiday party versus the "present value" of a sure thing at the local strip club. The chauvanism, vulgarity, racism and anecdotes comparing co-workers and bosses to everything from dung beetles to excrement might lead you to believe they're exaggerating just to trash their former employer. However, the numerous reviews on this site exclaiming, "Yes! This IS life at (-insert investment bank here-)" could indicate they may not be far from the truth.
Ironically, my latest read, Frank Partnoy's F.I.A.S.C.O., describes the investment banking division (IBD) as follows: "In IBD, young associates spent twenty-four hour days preparing 'books,' the bound presentations senior bankers flipped through during meetings with corporate executives. You took a job there at your peril. After several years preparing these flip books, you would either be fired or promoted, assuming you were still alive. After several more years you would be allowed to carry the books to meetings, and at some point you might even be permitted to speak... I wanted to steer clear of IBD."
Ultimately, I believe the authors succeeded in writing a book that provides an honest account of the business. Those in the industry are sure to get a good laugh out of it and those considering this career should definitely read this book first.
Hope the review helped.