April Fools

Stone, a former divisional vice-president at Drexel Burnham, offers an accessible and authoritative, if subjective recapitulation of the brokerage and investment company's spectacular rise in the mid-1980s--largely on the basis of Michael Milken's inventive junk bond activity. The author depicts the firm's subsequent bankruptcy and demise as a Greek tragedy; top Drexel management and 10,000 employees were dragged down by Wall Street villains Dennis Levine, Ivan Boesky, Carl Icahn and others. Milken and Drexel Burnham itself were indicted on charges of racketeering, insider trading, fraud and/or stock ``parking'' and manipulation. Stone describes charged staff meetings, tense NYC-West Coast conference calls moving millions of dollars from buyers to sellers, the October '87 market crash and general fear and dismay as Congress, the SEC and U.S. Attorney Rudolf Giuliani slowly closed their investigative nets. This best-yet untangling of the infamous financial imbroglio will instruct lay and informed reader alike. 50,000 first printing. (Dec.)