Behind the Hedgerows is a fictional drama about human nature and the conflicts that go with it. It is 1987 in the Hamptons. Cocaine is the drug of choice, AIDS is rampant, and the Old Guard is trying to hang on as new money invades Long Island’s East End. Hunter McPherson, East Hampton resident, entrepreneur, and fitness trainer to those of wealth, takes the reader “south of the highway” behind the manicured hedgerows for a firsthand look at the opulent and romanticized lives of the privileged few who live there. Privy to the entitled and deceitful world of his clients, Hunter is faced with a growing cynicism as those with massive egos, limitless greed, and needs for hedonistic pleasure test his moral resolve at every turn. Presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at creating his own wealth, Hunter cashes in on the dark secrets of his clients, using what he has learned to wield his own form of leverage, control, and power. In the process, lives are forever changed, including his own.

In Behind the Hedges, journalist Rich Whitt focused his investigative lens on recent events at the University of Georgia, and in so doing examined the bigger story of "a sea change in how America supports its institutions of higher education." Through interviews with many key figures in a struggle for power at UGA over the last decade, Rich examines the controversial tenure of Michael Adams as UGA president, and how this controversy led to the unprecedented split between the Board of Regents and the UGA Foundation, with implications for the landscape of higher education funding nationwide.

Bestselling author Steven Gaines's "richly entertaining" (People) and juicy social history of the Hamptons. As one of America's most fabled communities--long a magnet for artists, celebrities, the very rich, and their respective hangers-on--the Hamptons have been a scene of constant collision among the established old guard, New Money, and the local families who farmed and fished the region for generations. In serving up three centuries of Hamptons history, Steven Gaines introduces a host of colorful characters including Jackson Pollock, Ron Perelman, Lauren Bacall, and the Bouvier Beales of Grey Gardens infamy. Philistines at the Hedgerow is a mesmerizing feat of storytelling--a book that takes us behind the privet hedges and rolling sand dunes and brings vivid life to the curious passions and personalities that animate the Hamptons.

"I've been reading the strip for a decade, and now I view the world through RJ and Verne colored glassess . . . . This outdoor odd couple holds up a fun-house mirror to our obsessions.".

For readers of The Smartest Guys in the Room and When Genius Failed, the definitive take on Brian Hunter, John Arnold, Amaranth Advisors, and the largest hedge fund collapse in history At its peak, hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC had more than $9 billion in assets. A few weeks later, it completely collapsed. The disaster was largely triggered by one man: thirty-two-year-old hotshot trader Brian Hunter. His high-risk bets on natural gas prices bankrupted his firm and destroyed his career, while John Arnold, his rival at competitor fund Centaurus, emerged as the highest-paid trader on Wall Street. Meticulously researched and character-driven, Hedge Hogs is a riveting fly-on-the-wall account of the largest hedge fund collapse in history: a blistering tale of the recent past that explains our precarious present . . . and may predict our future. Using emails, instant messages, court testimony, and exclusive interviews, securities analyst turned investigative reporter Barbara T. Dreyfuss charts the colliding paths of these two charismatic traders who dominated the speculative energy market. We follow Brian Hunter, the Canadian farm boy and elbows-out high school basketball star, as he achieves phenomenal early success, only to see his ambition, greed, and hubris precipitate his downfall. Set in relief is the journey of John Arnold, whose mild manner, sophisticated tastes, and low profile belied his own ferocious competitive streak. As the two clash, hundreds of millions of dollars in pension and endowment money is imperiled, with devastating public consequences. Hedge Hogs takes you behind closed doors into the shadowy world of hedge funds, the unregulated wild side of finance, where over-the-top parties and lavish perks abound and billions of dollars of other people’s money are in the hands of a tiny elite. Dreyfuss traces the rise of this freewheeling industry while detailing the decades of bank, hedge fund, and commodity deregulation that turned Wall Street into a speculative casino. A gripping saga peppered with fast money, vivid characters, and high drama, Hedge Hogs is also an important and timely cautionary tale—a vivisection of a financial system jeopardized by reckless practices, watered-down regulation, and loopholes in government oversight, just waiting for the next bust. Praise for Hedge Hogs “Regulators, legislators and judges inclined to sympathize with the industry ought to rush out and buy a copy of Barbara Dreyfuss’s Hedge Hogs, a wonderfully instructive tale about Amaranth Advisors. . . . Dreyfuss, a Wall Street analyst turned investigative journalist, not only plowed through what turned out to be a treasure trove of official records and transcripts, but supplemented it with plenty of her own reporting. She manages to organize it all into a tight, riveting and understandable yarn.”—The Washington Post “Clearly and entertainingly told . . . a salutary example of how traders who believe they are super-smart might be nothing more than lucky, and how there is nothing so intoxicating as the ability to speculate with other people’s money.”—The Economist “[Dreyfuss] does a great job of putting Amaranth’s out-of-control trader into historical context, explaining the blitz of deregulation that set the stage for someone like Hunter to do maximum damage.”—Bloomberg “The definitive take on the largest hedge fund collapse in history . . . You will not be able to put it down.”—Frank Partnoy, author of F.I.A.S.C.O. and Infectious Greed Named One of the Top 10 Business & Economics Books of the Season by Publishers Weekly

If you're trying to build wealth, sharp market downturns are your worst enemy. And today, they're happening far more often: in the last 18 years, the S&P 500 has experienced sixteen violent market declines. Institutions and professional investors have mastered powerful hedging strategies for dramatically reducing the risks of market volatility. Now, you can do it, too--and you can't afford not to. In Buy and Hedge , two leading investment experts show how to apply hedging as part of a long-term program for growing and preserving your assets. CNBC Fast Money guest Jay Pestrichelli and seasoned financial industry veteran Wayne Ferbert show how to systematically protect yourself against violent downward moves while giving your portfolio maximum room to run in upward markets. The authors' techniques are easy to use, can be applied to most investment vehicles, and require surprisingly little "care and feeding" once implemented. You'll discover how to: · Take advantage of the hedge-building mechanisms built into low-cost index funds · Invest in your ideas with confidence, because you've hedged the downside · Systematically manage portfolios for risk as well as return · Master and apply the "5 Iron Rules of Buy & Hedge” · Use options to manage risk, not to create excess leverage · Generate more dividends · Effectively manage cash