Important Journalism Lessons from Michael Lewis
Michael Lewis, the author of Moneyball, opened up to The Los Angeles Times recently about everything from his opinion of British journalism — it's not pretty — to his analysis of the banking industry. Reed Johnson describes the New Orleans native as "congenitally chatty and assertively charming," and while Johnson spends some time discussing the book, Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World (which he describes as "essentially a compilation of pieces written for Vanity Fair magazine" largely about America after the financial crisis) the piece is as much a mini-profile on Lewis as it is about his book. It's worth a read if only to figure out the full context for these really weird quotes.
RELATED: The 'Moneyball' Movie: Less Stats, More Hugging
Lewis on his experience as a student at the London School of Economics:
Going from American journalism to British journalism is like going from eating bratwurst to eating Mexican food. You go from feeling kind of constipated to feeling like you got the runs.
Lewis on New Yorkers and their relationship with bankers:
If you grew up in New York you're unaware how strange Wall Street is. It's like the fish is unaware of the water it swims in. But for me it was just bizarre. It's funny.
Lewis on what matters where he's from:
What was important inside New Orleans was who your mama was, what carnival organization you belonged to, where you went to school. It wasn't that there was an attitude that was hostile to success, it was that success was family, it was 'did you give pleasure to people?' It was just kind of being. It wasn't achieving.
