The Wolf of Wall Street Paperback – August 26, 2008

I gave this 5 stars, not because it is a good read or a truthful memoir, but because it is a fine example of criminal psychology and drug addiction.The supposed facts related by Belfort must be taken with a large dose of salt. He readily admits with some pride deceiving everyone he deals with including his wife and supposed friends and business partners. We would be quite gullible to then take his writing at face value.He portrays himself as generous to a fault, but of course the money he passes out is mostly stolen. The judgement against him included a requirement to pay over 100 million in retribution to those he defrauded. Most of that has never been paid even though his income from books and movie rights is quite substantial. By the way his sentence was lighter than those of all his cohorts because he turned against them when the law caught up with him. This after spilling a lot of ink in his book about loyalty, trust and "omerta." Does he still have hidden assets that rightfully belong to the victims? You guess. I bet he does.He tries to present himself as a reformed bad actor who has seen the light and conquered his addiction. I hope he has conquered his addictions, but that wasn't his only problem. He is quite intelligent and seen as such by all around him. The schemes he ran were carefully designed and couldn't have been conceived and executed while stoned, so there is more to this than addiction. The most important part of the story is left out. How did a broke guy starting at the very bottom of a major brokerage firm get to be a criminal millionaire? That's the guts of the real story, and it was left out. We only see him at the climax just before the downfall.Sex and drugs sell books and movies and that's the new scheme, and it is lawful even if only partly true and even if the main facts are left out.The schemer and deceiver is still at work.

I had no preconceived notions of this story. I had never heard of Jordan Belfort or Stratton Oakmont. Last year we saw the preview for the movie, we like Leo, we like Scorsese, the movie had a lot of buzz. So we went to see it. Now, we have four kids. So we actually make it to the movie theater to see a non kids movie, maybe three times a year. Most movies we watch at home. But we went.(hey isn’t this a book review, yes, but this is going somewhere I promise. Especially for those who saw the movie and are considering the book)The beginning of the movie was excellent. Extremely good, we really enjoyed it, but as with Belfort’s life the wheels started to come off. My wife HATED it. In fact I am not sure she has ever hated a movie more. She has not stopped talking about how much she hated it. I thought it was OK. In fact I thought it mostly needed editing. The movie is three hours long. DiCaprio was brilliant, McConaughey was brilliant. One hour of the movie is incredible, hilarious, amazing. One hour of it was gratuitous and appalling and one hour of it was just superfluous and boring. Again it really needed editing. The other problem and I think really the main problem my wife had is the movie didn’t keep its covenant with the audience. American movies for the most part are about the protagonist making a journey and growing as a person. The person at the end has usually gone through some trials and tribulations that lead to transformation. The problem with this Hollywood movie is it is a farce that takes itself too seriously. Belfort is one dimensional and does not seem to be aware of the havoc that surrounds him. He really never grows as a person in the three hours. No remorse, no understanding, nothing. Just massive amounts of excess.Now, the book. Finally. The book in my opinion was amazing. It is fairly long (over 500 pages) but has a quick pace. Much of the main scenes from the movie are in there (although as movies do, they change them around to make them play better on screen.) But here is what is great about the book that is missing from the movie. Belfort’s personality really comes through. I thought Leo’s performance in the movie was great, but he was playing a cartoon character. The real life Belfort, at least as he writes it has depth, intelligence, emotion, growth, regret. He is a REAL person. I am not sure they could have made a Hollywood movie that stayed true to the real story. It would probably be better as a 10 hour Ken Burns Documentary.Another thing I really enjoyed in the book is Belfort did an incredible job of explaining the complex ways he made so much money on Wall Street. How he did it, how he kept a step ahead, what he was thinking and why he did the things he did. I found it fascinating (although admittedly I read a lot of financial genre stuff, so it may just be me.) The other characters in the book are real people too. The chaos, and then some, is all in there. It is just not the focus of the book. His real journey is in the book, with all of the highs and lows. In the movie there is no attempt at creating empathy for Belfort. But in the book you take the journey with him and while you recognize his faults, you see the multi dimensions as well. You will absolutely have empathy for Belfort in moments of the book. In the end that is what really makes the book so much better than the movie. Belfort is he does grow as a person.In fact I would almost say I admire him. But admire, would be the wrong word because he does exhibit so much reprehensible behavior. But understand and appreciate him I do. He is fascinating. I am very glad that I read it and gained more perspective on the story. I doubt I will ever convince my wife to read it, but if she did I am sure she would lose some of her animosity towards the story.

I can understand how this book may not be appreciated or believed by the general public. Considering that Belfort is not a writer by trade or education, I thought he did well in describing characters and characteristics. I laughed throughout the book at his commentary and descriptions.I knew and spent time with Jordan for a period during his drug-induced haze-days when in my early twenties and I remember every moment and word...he is an amazing guy, albeit a true con and crook. I can attest that, with the exceptions of some impertinent details and timelines, what you can't bring yourself to believe is only half the story; it's all true and much, much more.Consider, prior to aligning him with great authors of AmLit, that his ego has its own zip code, he's a narcissist, a mysogenist, and addict. Consider also that he was on the cover of trade industry mags by the age of 30 who the SEC and other feds committed thousands of man-hours investigating. Belfort's scams caused laws and regulations to be created.This book is not well written, but it's a good read. Reviewers who disliked this book either cannot conceptualize such an extravagant lifestyle or were in hopes of a final moral redemption. Stick to novels...this is a real story and Jordan is incapable of delivering what you look for. He seeks the limelight, the attention, anyway he can get it. Take a deeper, psychological perspective: the hookers, the drugs, the abuses and crticisms of others...he punishes himself with his self-destructive lifestyle. And then brags about it.The next book, I am sure, will "regard" his arrest, his testimony against Steve Madden - who he, himself, criminalized (along with many others)- his jail time and his stint in the B-movie business. Keep reading.

This book was an amazing biography. The movie was great but this book was written on a higher level candid and heartfelt. I highly recommend reading this book.