I find it absolutely amazing how many people still voted for Trump! That the way it is in the North America. It feels like like we are living on a different planet altogether.

I could not put this memoire down! I learned so much about Russian corruption, lawyers, finance, and the world beyond my sheltered Canadian boundaries. This man has fortitude!

I really enjoyed reading this factual exciting in depth look at this man's experience with Russia and the US system.

Bill Browder was born into a family of well-known communists in capitalist America. In an attempt to rebel against his family and parents, he decided to become the biggest capitalist in the communist world. Over the next few years, he started sought capital to invest in the opportunity in Eastern Europe which had recently begun privatization efforts of state-owned businesses. This created a huge opportunity for Browder who was able to acquire assets for literal pennies on the dollar, through his investment firm, Hermitage Capital. Over the next few years, he expanded operations in Poland, eventually opening an international office in Russia. Browder made a name for himself exposing fraud and corruption in Russian companies. He was aided by Putin, who would indirectly help Browder’s company by going after corrupt officials in an attempt to consolidate power for himself. Since Browder often held a sizable share of the companies whose corrupt officials were targeted, so he benefitted from the anticorruption (which was just a power grab) effort by Putin. However, once Putin had finished his power grab, their interests diverged and Browder’s firm was accused of tax fraud (which wasn’t true), so he began the process of evacuating both his employees and capital from Russia. From there on out, the whole situation went downhill for Browder and Hermitage Capital. What I liked about the book was that although it was a memoir about finance and politics, it read like a mystery or a thriller novel. I would recommend this book to an older audience due to the mature language used and certain violent scenes described. It also goes into political corruption and its consequences which would be more suited for an older audience. Deep knowledge of finance is not necessary to understand the story, so it is available to a wider audience within the older age group.

Pauline

Wow! Hard to put down.

Possibly my favorite book of the year. Bill Browder meticulously goes through his history as a growing hedge fund manager specializing in Russia. Then, he explains how his business, his life and the lives of his friends and employees were upended by a corrupt Russian system. His story has significant relevance to today’s world as it resulted in the Magnitsky Act. Putin would like nothing more than the repeal of this act which sanctions Russia for its criminal behavior. Read it today and apply it as a filter for viewing today’s politics here and in Russia.

A very well written book and incredibly revealing about the corruption in Russia. Unfortunately, it also parallels what is starting to happen in the United States in terms of lying and corruption.

Well written and a page turner. Highly recommended.

Amazing true story. Hard to believe at times which makes it all the more engrossing. When you're done reading this, there is further information to be found on the internet about the ongoing story of Russia's attempts to vilify Sergei Magnitsy and Bill Browder.