Recently Read: Rigged
Ben Mezrich's book Rigged is a fast, moderately entertaining read from the same author who wrote Bringing Down the House - the story of the MIT Blackjack team (a great read). This is my second attempt to read a Mezrich book and get the same entertainment value I got out of House (the other was Busting Vegas). Unfortunately, neither Rigged nor Busting Vegas were as good as House. In short - read Bringing Down the House again and skip Rigged. For more, see below.
Rigged is the story of a young guy out of Harvard who gets a job working at the Merc Exchange, the Manhattan-based oil exchange. To summarize the next 42 chapters, the main character then struggles with his new role, tries to maintain his relationship with his girlfriend while working long hours, partners with royalty in Dubai to set up an oil exchange in the booming country, and avoids getting beaten up by people who don't want to see the Dubai exchange succeed. There you go - I've saved you 288 pages of reading.
It's a light, entertaining read. I picked it up in an airport, where I seem to be a sucker, for light, entertaining reads. This didn't feel like a total waste of time, but I'd go read Bringing Down the House again before I'd recommend Rigged.
