Before You Buy That Book

Goldman Sachs wants you to know that former employee Greg Smith is lying through his teeth so you can't believe a word he's written about the corrupt culture at Goldman Sachs.

In fact, it's a waste of money to buy his book. It's a waste of time to read it.

Do you think anyone is really listening to Goldman Sachs? Or is it more likely there's an eager anticipation of Greg Smith's expose of the Wall Street behemoth?

The book will not be released until 22 October, so Goldmans Sachs is doing its best to damage the author's credibility as much as possible. If he fails to sell through, if the book is a flop, their work is done.

Through channels, Goldman Sachs has let it be known that Mr. Smith was one of their worst employees towards the end of his term. He only wrote the book, a work of fiction when you get right down to it, to get even for getting the sack.

Who's believing Goldman Sachs? Approximately no one.

Particularly not those who bought mortgage-backed securities at the behest of their Goldman Sachs broker, only to find that the securities lacked all security. The whole scheme, to offload junk investments to the unwary, soured the world on the investment banker.

Mr. Smith began his writing career with an op-ed piece in the New York Times that laid out his disillusionment with a company that had changed radically during his ten years of employment.

Since the letter was published last March, Goldman Sachs has had plenty of time to compile a dossier of mud to fling at their former employee. They hope to cause a potential book buyer to think twice, implying that whatever is in the book is too distorted to be believed, but Goldman Sachs has such a dismal reputation that all they'll end up doing is promoting the book.

If they're trying to besmirch the author just days before his tell-all book is laid down, they must be worried about what is written there. They'd like the public to think it's not true, so that when Goldman Sachs gets caught doing something else slightly illegal, that general public won't be bombarding their elected representatives with calls to lop off a few heads.

All the trash talking just makes the book that much more intriguing. Sales won't be harmed by Goldman Sachs' reports on a disgruntled employee. Sales will be boosted.