MUST READ: Betting on the Blind Side

Voltron says: Vanity Fair has published a lengthy excerpt from The Big Short, a new book by Michael Lewis (author of "The Blind Side", "Liar's Poker" and "Moneyball") about “a medical resident with only one eye, an awkward social manner, and $145,000 in student loans" named Michael Burry (turns out he's an x-in-law of a friend of mine, KxB) who started his own hedge fund, Scion Capital, in 2001 and by 2005 was the first person to attempt to profit from the demise of the housing bubble through very high powered side bets (Credit Default Swaps on Collateralized Debt Obligations) a full year before anyone else. It's a fascinating human story.

http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2010/04/wall-street-excerpt-201004