"Joris Luyendijk, an investigative journalist, knew almost nothing about banking until he was assigned to the financial sector in 2011. Over two yeaers he spoke to more than 200 people -- from the competitive investment bankers and elite hedge fund manageres to downtrodden back-office staff and those made redundant in regular "culls". They opened up about what they actually do, about the toxic hiring and firing culture and about the overwhelming technological and mathematical opacity of their work. They admitted that in the crash of 2008, they hoarded food, put their money in gold and prepared to evacuate their children to the countryside. So has anything changed? Or is it just business as usual?" -- Back cover.