The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson Book Review

Released: 5th March 2025 (Original Hardback)

Genre: Non-Fiction, Society, Finance, Politics

Number of Pages: 408

Inside the glass towers of Canary Wharf, the biggest corporate banks gamble with millions, fully detached from the wider population. Gary Stevenson has seen it all first-hand, rising from a poor background in Ilford to one of the most successful traders in the world. He tells his story in The Trading Game, a superb look at the world of the super-rich.

Starting in 2006, Stevenson grows up in the shadow of London’s financial district, aspiring to join the suits at the top. Through solid intuition and studies at LSE, he takes first place in Citibank’s internship competition and joins the trading floor. Gary’s presence among the wealthy sons and older veterans is anomalous. But as his career goes on, a physical and psychological downturn takes hold. Much of the book is split between the major events and explaining how the trade floor works. He introduces his former colleagues and their often-lavish outings, often contrasting them against his simple life of football and video games back in East London.

Across seven parts, Gary places his job against the backdrop of the collapsing global economy. When the 2008 recession hit, the author found himself in a unique position. He deduced that bailing out the banks would not deliver a full recovery, that economists were incorrect and they had failed to ask the important questions. The fifth part, Thermostat, is the most revealing as it connects the struggles of ordinary people with those who buy up all the assets and hoover up the profits, pushing many into poverty.

This eventually fuelled Gary’s disillusionment with the trading scene and his push towards tackling inequality. As the author journeys to Japan in his closing years with the business, the tone is unapologetic and authentic. You really feel his frustration boiling up over the course of his CitiBank career. In the early going, he enjoys fancy dinners and endless nights of partying; further down the line, he’s faced with unending stress and weaker health. It all feels incredibly personal.

Recommended?

YES: The Trading Game is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand our current predicament. Gary’s brutally honest prose and prescient viewpoint should be heeded by all western nations who are buckling under the weight of inequality. The book will surely be viewed as a convincing argument for economic reform in the years to come.