John Paulson was a maverick, an outcast, a non-believer. Yet, he got away with it by making a fortune. The latest book on Wall Street’s ways by Gregory Zuckerman goes by the title “The Greatest Trade Ever: How John Paulson Bet Against the Markets and Made $20 Billion”. It is a true story about the manager of a small-time hedge fund who refused to believe in the so-called thriving world of US housing. All over the nation, when investors were frantically wild about the ‘booming’ housing market, Paulson was skeptical about it and even waged a bet against it. The result – as the nation plunged into recession that had universal consequences, Paulson managed to amass $20 billion. His fund did not go by mortgages. Rather he relied on “Credit Default Swaps”, which in layman terms means that Insurance policies rather than homeowners themselves should pay money in case of a default. This way, Paulson’s small fund made a swopping $15 billion in one year of which he took $4 billion home. The book also tells the story of other mavericks such as Jeffrey Greene, a west coast property developer who like Paulson refused to rely on the surging housing market. The book describes how they stood their ground when the entire world was going crazy. Difficult for a financial investor, who has to keep pace with trade but still they did it. Their foresight made them billionaires. The book does not make for a very gripping tale as the material presented might be a little boring for the Wall-Street illiterate as it is infused with a lot of financial details. It has a few interesting anecdotes about the traders themselves, though. One example is the fact that Paulson still travels by train although he is a billionaire. Another is Paulson’s wedding to his assistant Jenny. Paulson was a playboy till his 40’s after which he decided it was time to settle down. He made a list of qualities and expectations of a would-be wife. “Cheerful” topped the list and he didn’t have to go in search of the right woman. She was right there in his office. Similar anecdotes are interesting but it is a Wall Street book through and through, written by a Wall Street Journalist. The book tries to tell a story but ends up throwing light on yet another aspect of the recession.