Resident moderates author’s talk on the ‘Great Recession’

Saturday, 21 November 2009 18:09

Investigative reporter Charles Gasparino will talk about his book, “The Sellout, How Three Decades of Wall Street Greed and Government Mismanagement Destroyed the Global Financial System,” at 5 p.m. Sunday, November 22, at the New Canaan Library.

The talk will be moderated by New Canaan resident Michael Holland, chairman of the private investment firm Holland & Company and a regular on financial television programs.

Gasparino, a best-selling author, writes about the current financial crisis in the United States and the events that led up to what is now being called “The Great Recession” in his latest book.

It introduces a coterie of cowboy bond traders from Salomon Brothers, First Boston and other major Wall Street firms in the 1980s who went on to become some of the biggest and richest players on Wall Street by trading in early mortgage-backed securities.

The author, who lives in New York and has a weekend home in Rowayton, is an on-air editor for CNBC, a columnist for The Daily Beast and a freelance writer for various publications. He previously wrote for the Wall Street Journal and has won several business journalism awards.

He is also the author of “King of the Club,” which was listed by the Library Journal as one of the best business books of 2007, and “Blood on the Street,” which was a BusinessWeek best-seller and was listed by Barron’s as one of the best business books of 2005.

Holland, who will moderate the discussion, is a graduate of Harvard College and Columbia University and has also been a general partner of the Blackstone Group and the CEO of Blackstone Alternative Asset Management.

Event co-sponsor Elm Street Books will have copies of “The Sellout” available for purchase and signing. The talk is open to the public, but registration is recommended. Call 203-594-5003 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .