The Big Bad Bear Book

The collapse of Bear Stearns in March of this year has produced innumerable journalistic takes and re-takes.

Now it has entered a new stage, getting its very own book, BEAR TRAP: THE FALL OF BEAR STEARNS AND THE PANIC OF 2008, by an individual still known only as Anonymous.

The publisher, BrickTower, says that Anonymous will reveal his/her name when the formal publication date rolls around, at the start of the fourth week of September.

The anonymity and the accompanying guessing game is a standard bit of publisher's hype of course. It is designed to assure us that the book is the work of a real insider, the Mark Felt of the Bear Stearns meltdown.

But of course it seems unlikely anyone at BrickTower had to meet Anonymous in a parking garage.

At any rate, I've contacted BrickTower and requested a review copy. The name of the publisher is itself news to me, certainly it isn't like Wiley, a go-to name for biz books. Still, if a copy arrives, I'll happily tell you all about it.