Trading Game by Gary Stevenson
Published by Penguin, 2025

The true story of the rags to riches life of Gary Stevenson, one of Citibank’s most successful traders. 

This is a book for all those who, like me, loved Duncan Mavin’s Pyramid of Lies and John Carreyrou’s Bad Blood. 

It’s set in the complex world of banking and foreign exchange so to fully understand the intrigue, power struggles and eventual burn out of traders, a familiarity with banking, the economy, even working life in Canary Wharf would be helpful.

A list of financial acronyms would also be handy. Nevertheless, even for those who’ve never worked in the City, this is a fascinating read. 

The underlying message is that anyone can be successful if they’re determined enough, work hard enough and they’re prepared to take risks, but what happens when they realise they’ve actually succeeded? 

Fascinating and surprisingly sad, Gary Stevenson’s exposé clearly demonstrates not only the pressure to perform but that, more importantly, money doesn’t necessarily buy you happiness. 

Strong language and frequent references to drug use.