The Gaga Years: The Rise and Fall of the Money Game, 1981-1991

Without lapsing into intrusiveness or self-involvement, Fromson practically makes high finance into an Aesop's fable in this incredibly accessible narrative. From his insight on the society of the Lydians to a quirky story about the Egyptian Pharaoh Ptolemy II, Fromson keeps the reader turning the pages -- and you just might learn something while you're at it!


Excellent   October 25, 2002
Patrick Fitzpatrick (New York)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

Duval-Fromson's work has it all: The braces, the big cigars, the Lydians. Drawing parallels between Croesus, Ivan Boesky, the beginnings of Lyme disease in Westchester, and George Soros' sparring with the Hunt brothers, the Gaga Years weaves a tale that will keep you turning the pages through pot after pot of Earl Grey.

Duval-Fromson's finest book is matched only, perchance, by E.A. Roy's work on Hungarian bearer bonds. I pray that it will come back in print.


A classic   October 30, 2002
B. Chevalier (New York City)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

Some critics have complained that Brett Duval-Fromson's the Gaga Years falls short of his Running and Fighting: Working in Washington. That's a bit like comparing the Cherry Orchard to King Lear and concluding that it isn't a very good play.

And in any case, the critics may not have been paying close enough attention. It is only on the second or third reading that one sees how Duval-Fromson's wit suffuses this book. One of many examples: The chapter on MiniScribe, a disk-drive maker whose financial shenanigans are compared to fall of Acre in 1291, is written without recourse to the letter "E" -- a wry comment on how MiniScribe ulimately lacked earnings.

While many consider the Gaga Years a business book, in my library its shelved elsewhere -- between Dumas and Eckhart.