PANTHEON
ExploreBuild My Library
© 2026 Pantheon — an atlas of the ideas that shaped how we think.
book2000

When Genius Failed

Disciplines:
history
finance

Summary

Roger Lowenstein's narrative history of Long-Term Capital Management — the rise and collapse of the hedge fund run by Nobel laureates and Wall Street legends.

Core Contribution

The definitive LTCM account: Lowenstein's narrative makes accessible the complex mechanics of convergence trading, the role of leverage in amplifying small mispricings into catastrophic risk, and the hubris of believing mathematical models could tame market volatility. Essential reading for understanding model risk, leverage, and the systemic fragility that arises when sophisticated players all use similar strategies. The Fed's orchestration of the bailout is documented as a precedent that shaped the 2008 crisis response.

Historical Influences

Investigative financial journalism tradition

Intellectual Lineage

Financial HistoryHedge Fund Literature

Allied Works

The Big Short Too Big to Fail

Contemporaries & Peers

Liar's Poker Barbarians at the Gate

Minds Influenced

Financial Risk Management Systemic Risk Thinking

Intellectual Posterity

Financial Risk Management Literature

Discussing

When Genius Failed

Ask anything about When Genius Failed — their ideas, influences, contradictions, legacy.

Sign in to start a conversation.