Michael Lewis, the bestselling author of The Big Short and Moneyball, has revealed that he has almost finished writing his book on Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange.
The upcoming book is titled Going Infinite: the Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon, and Lewis initially stumbled on to the subject of Bankman-Fried in late 2021, after a friend had asked him to meet the FTX founder and get a read on him.
Speaking at the 2023 Bitcoin Conference in Miami on May 19, Lewis didn’t offer a specific publishing date but did indicate that he wants the book to drop around the time the criminal trial against SBF begins in October.
A quick search on Amazon does show however that the book has a tentative release date of Oct. 3.
Going Infinite: the Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon. Source: Amazon.
Lewis was also reportedly close to finishing the book right before FTX infamously imploded in November 2022 and the subsequent criminal charges were brought against SBF, adding an entirely new angle to the story behind the former billionaire crypto mogul.
The tales of SBF and FTX
Recounting the writing process while speaking at the Bitcoin conference, Lewis suggested that the FTX drama ultimately saved the book.
“I thought ‘I don’t have a book,” he said, adding:
“I had this conversation with a kind of person I used as a sounding board…and he said ‘Your problem is you don’t have a third act. You have the first two acts, but you don’t have a third act.’ And I said ’that’s absolutely right. I don’t know how to end it.’ A week later, FTX blows up. I was so grateful.”
The author of course didn’t want to give a run down of too many details on the book, but did note that he was able to get a first hand-look of FTX’s meltdown as it happened.
“It aims to read like a piece of fiction,” he said, adding that “If you didn’t know anything about crypto. If you didn’t even know who Sam Bankman-Fried was. You might think ’this is just a made up-story’,” he said.
Notably, Lewis also disclosed at Bitcoin Miami that he owns a modest amount of Bitcoin (BTC) that was all locked up in the FTX bankruptcy.
Shite I’m tired sorry this is of course Michael Lewis!
– Joe Nakamoto (@JoeNakamoto) May 19, 2023
Given that Lewis was able to provide an engaging and in-depth run of the key players and moments surrounding the 2008 housing bubble crisis in The Big Short, his next book on SBF is bound to have some interesting insights.
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During his appearance at the conference, Lewis revealed that he has interviewed anyone from SBF’s inner circle and employees, to government officials in both the Bahamas and the U.S.
He has also had access to SBF for two years, with the FTX founder continuing to allow Lewis to interview him during his house arrest in Paolo Alto.
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