Cityboy: Beer and Loathing in the Square Mile - Books (Geraint Anderson, Hardcover)

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Customer Reviews of Cityboy: Beer and Loathing in the Square Mile

Book_Worm_Daniel
Rochester, England
6th October 2008

Very similar to Golden Handcuffs by Polly Courtney.
I brought this book because I remember reading a similar book written by Polly Courtney (Golden Handcuffs) and thought this book would give me another similar insight into life in the city.
Both books are very similar by the fact that they are both based on the author's experiences in working in big city banks.
Geraint like Polly found the working into the city not a fun place to be and both had since left the city and gone on to become authors.
In this book Geraint explains how he got lucky and went from a hippy traveller to a man earning more money in a year than most of us will ever earn.
Personally I don't think this book gives any new insight about what is happening in the city and how much city boys are earning because I think most people are aware of that nowadays but it does make you wonder what sort of place London is becoming in the 21st century.
Still this book is a very fun read and my only criticism of it is it's a shame the author had to write the story based on his experiences rather than the actual truth.

Grove Pk
London
29th September 2008

CITY BOYZ
This book has confirmed what I thought of those people in the city. Not particularly intelligent, lucky to earn silly money for doing what a Sunday market trader could do!!!
I enjoyed the funny side. Easy to read.

zarla
UK
27th September 2008

City Babylon?
A lot of this reminded me of Imogen Edward-Jones' Babylon books, except this time 'anonymous' has (kind of) declared his identity. Like the Babylon books, cocaine is one of the main characters (almost as if no other drug exists); prostitutes appear regularly & large sums of money are thrown at the undeserving. Nothing unexpected - the stuff about gargantuan bonuses and insider trading was hardly a revelation. There were two phrases I really liked, though. For sheer cleverness, originality and sort-of-lyricism, these surpass anything in the Babylon books. Steve's dad tells him 'to keep his nose clean'- hilarious double entendre. The other quotation was 'I am no longer convinced that the light at the end of the tunnel is, in fact, a fast-approaching train.' I think he should have finished the book with this, instead of with the grimly cliched stuff about love making the world go round.

F.H.
UK
19th September 2008

witty, explosive and a breath of fresh air
Cityboy is a comical and absorbing insight to life in the city, truly unique in the sense that the author never had a burning desire to be an investment banker yet he succeeds through being cunning and fortunate. The use of adages, renowned quotes, references to history, and hilarious interpretation of personal experiences make this book a worthy read. I must confess that the book tails off slightly towards the end and loses momementum but the savvy geraint anderson can be forgiven for this such was his brilliance. A useful reference text (i.e. hours involved, qualities required, nature of the role, how to succeed, etc) to those that look to pursue a career in the city, a caveat for those at the FSA and an absorbing read for everyone else!

kiwi girl
New Zealand
16th September 2008

I loved this book, it is so true
I am married to a research analyst and thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It is so true what Geraint writes about life in the financial markets. The brutality of the hours, he explains well the huge highs and lows experienced by those connected to this industry.

He is a brilliant writer and has some very thought provoking observations to make. Thank you Geraint for writing such an honest but entertaining account of your experiences.