Spoiling for a Fight

"Compelling, suspenseful, and deeply reported . . . Masters gives a dramatic inside account of the fight between Spitzer and the titans of finance."--"Newsday""" Few politicians have burst onto the American scene with as much impact as Eliot Spitzer. As New York's attorney general, he exposed wrongdoing by stock analysts, mutual fund managers, and insurance brokers, and investigated corporations that have misled or defrauded ordinary investors and consumers. And as the next governor of New York, Spitzer is now a rising star on the national political scene.
No reporter has had better or more complete behind-the-scenes access to Spitzer than Brooke A. Masters, who covered him for four years at The Washington Post. "Spoiling for a Fight" is her dramatic and revealing portrait of the politician who has brought down some of the biggest names in American finance and has set his sights on higher office. And in a new afterword, she chronicles his ascension to New York's highest office and assesses his future political prospects. Brooke A. Masters is a reporter for the Financial Times, where she covers the intersection of law and business. She was previously a staff writer for "The Washington Post," where she reported on the financial services industry and white-collar crime. A graduate of Harvard University and the London School of Economics, she lives in Mamaroneck, New York, with her husband and two children. In recent years, few politicians have burst onto the American scene with as much impact as Eliot Spitzer. As the New York State attorney general Spitzer made his name by exposing the wrongdoing of stock analysts, mutual fund managers, and insurance brokers, and by investigating corporations that misled or defrauded ordinary people. Spitzer has rewritten the rules by which government oversees big business, which in turn affect every American who owns stocks, mutual funds, insurance policies, or a 401(k).
Spitzer has made it his mission to protect the common man against the predations of big business, and he and his staff have revived a slew of nearly dormant New York State laws to call companies to account when federal regulators were slow to move. Combining passion and zeal with a savvy understanding of media management, Spitzer has taken on some of the biggest names on Wall Street and a host of mutual fund and insurance companies, culminating in an operatic battle royal with Richard A. Grasso, the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. In many cases levying huge fines, deposing CEOs, and imposing his own rules for doing business, Spitzer has left an indelible mark on Wall Street, but he has done so by riding roughshod over adversaries and allies alike. No reporter has had better or more complete behind-the-scenes access to Spitzer's operation than Brooke A. Masters, the award-winning New York correspondent for "The Washington Post." In "Spoiling for a Fight," she draws on extensive interviews not only with Spitzer and his staff but also with the regulators, defense lawyers, and business executives with whom he has clashed, painting a portrait that is dramatic and revealing, while also raising the question of whether Spitzer's method of conducting government business is good or bad for America. Spitzer's success in New York has inspired state officials across the country to follow his lead in conducting their own investigations of big business, not always with desirable results. Eliot Spitzer is at once ambitious, ruthless, and fiercely devoted to what he sees as the higher calling of ensuring fairness in a free-market economy. But it remains to be seen whether his adversarial approach will serve him as well in the task of governing, where compromise often carries the day. "Spoiling for a Fight" offers unique insight into whether Spitzer can make this leap and thereby seize a place as a major player on the national stage. "This detailed and searching account of Spitzer's career . . . reveals a principled, skilled and decisive prosecutor . . . Masters turns each outline] into a short story, packed with moral tension and complexity."--Wayne Barrett, "Los Angeles Times" ""Spoiling for a Fight" is an insightful study of a man and his mission. Masters's account of a man who jumps into the fray when his gut tells him something is amiss, trumpets what he thinks he's found so that everyone will hear, and doesn't back down--or apologize much--is a knight's tale."--Rebecca Porter, "Trial" "This is a powerful and illuminating book. Brooke Masters goes after her subject with the same doggedness, guts, and skill that define New York State attorney general Eliot Spitzer's investigations of corporate corruption. In "Spoiling for a Fight," she explains in a deeply reported, warts-and-all way both why Spitzer is obsessed and why he is necessary."--David Maraniss, author of "First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton" "Not only is this a riveting biography of one of America's rising political stars, it is a fascinating journey into the inner sanctums of corporate greed. It explains who is stealing your 401(k) money, how they're doing it, and how Eliot Spitzer is on their case. It also explains why Wall Street fears Spitzer while Main Street admires him."--Alan M. Dershowitz, author of "Preemption: A Knife That Cuts Both Ways" "Brooke Masters has captured Eliot Spitzer as no one else has, putting him in the context of American capitalism and explaining how his agenda has revolutionized Wall Street and can possibly save the Democratic Party from economic irrelevance. He is not just some hair-trigger prosecutor but the legitimate heir to Theodore Roosevelt's mantle of saving capitalism from the rapacious, cheating business people who would destroy the markets they dominate for their own greed. I say 'bravo' for getting Spitzer right."--James J. Cramer, markets commentator, TheStreet.com, and host of CNBC's "Mad Money with Jim Cramer" "A balanced biography from "Washington Post" reporter Masters