Left high and dry by the recent market meltdown? Then you'll appreciate the bad rap Benjamin Mark Cole gives to investment analysts. Cole exposes inherent conflicts of interest between their investment banking and analysis activities. Using examples such as Planet Hollywood, Cole weaves a dark tapestry of duplicity. The company wound up in Chapter 11, but along the route from riches to rags, analysts invented new ways to doll it up. After all, raising cash for big-time clients is where the real money is made on Wall Street. The timing of Cole's book is perfect. In June, Congress held hearings on this very topic two days after the securities industry volunteered to police itself.
For more on the Congressional ruling, see the House Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises report.