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The Coffee Trader: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle) | 
| Author: David Liss
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $2.99
You Save: $11.96 (80%)
New (35) Used (90) Collectible (1) from $2.49
Rating:  98 reviews
Sales Rank: 15901
Media: Paperback
Pages: 432
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.6
ISBN: 0375760903
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780375760907
ASIN: 0375760903
Publication Date: February 3, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Amsterdam, 1659: On the world’s first commodities exchange, fortunes are won and lost in an instant. Miguel Lienzo, a sharp-witted trader in the city’s close-knit community of Portuguese Jews, knows this only too well. Once among the city’s most envied merchants, Miguel has suddenly lost everything. Now, impoverished and humiliated, living in his younger brother’s canal-flooded basement, Miguel must find a way to restore his wealth and reputation.
Miguel enters into a partnership with a seductive Dutchwoman who offers him one last chance at success—a daring plot to corner the market of an astonishing new commodity called “coffee.” To succeed, Miguel must risk everything he values and face a powerful enemy who will stop at nothing to see him ruined. Miguel will learn that among Amsterdam’s ruthless businessmen, betrayal lurks everywhere, and even friends hide secret agendas.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 93 more reviews...
 Enjoy over cups of coffee August 28, 2008
I. Papadas (Athens,Greece)
I read this book mostly at the beach and it is an easy reading, great book. I enjoyed the fact that the stock exchange and financial instruments are so important over the entire book's plot. They are well explained, even for those who haven't even heard of them. The atmosphere is great!I highly recommend it.
 Rote ie very spiritless echo of earlier work August 7, 2008
H. E. Davis (Miami Beach, FL)
Having very much enjoyed the story development and historical setting of "Conspiracy", I was much disappointed in the Coffee trader story which meandered aimlessly, had uniformly unsympathetic characters, and meandered aimlessly (I'm only half joking...). Very UNcompelling read.
A Slow-Drip Thriller that Cranks the Knife! July 27, 2008
Wolfe Moffat (Franklinville, NY)
When it comes down to the exception that disproves the rule, I hate it. At least normally I hate it. But sometimes that exception does come into play, and it works. That was the case when I made my through "Thriller," a collection of short stories that was edited by James Patterson. My plan was to have 3 favorites out of the whole collection. Well, when I read "The Double Dealer" by David Liss, I suppose that had to change. I didn't have 3 favorite short stories in that collection, I had 4! And David Liss was my 4th favorite. I'm glad he was! "The Coffee Trader" was the first I picked up by him since "Thriller," and it won't be the last.
Welcome to Amsterdam in 1659! Welcome to a world of trades, fortunes and commodities. And more than anything, welcome to a troubled world of lies and dark-hearted deceit! You have entered the world of the likes of Miguel Lienzo, and he knows it all too well. But something strange happens. Among the smells that lurk the streets and taverns, a woman entices Miguel to the scent of coffee. The deal has begun, and old rivals rear some ugly heads. This is not popular, and some people will do anything to see Miguel fail. The lies and betrayal threaten to undo him, because business is business. Who are your true friends in a time like this? It just might boil your blood hotter than coffee!
Do you really need to read a book to see back-stabbing? Not really. People have been cranking the knife another twist since the beginning of time. But the lesson should always be fresh in the back of our minds to choose our friends wisely. Sometimes double check to make sure that friend is as loyal as you thought.
I'd say check out David Liss as an author. "The Coffee Trader" moved at a slow pace, so in coffee terms you'd say a slow-drip plot. Right? But that's what made it a good read. Nothing decaf about the issues at hand delivered by this Edgar Award Winner! Good stuff!!
 Like a lukewarm cup of instant de-caf April 20, 2008
Laura Levin Woolf (ma'aleh adumim, israel)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I really wanted to like this book and I appreciate all of the research that the author did into his subject and period. He really did do a wonderful job of recreating 17th Century Amsterdam and of making it seem authentic. Unfortunately, more than 100 pages into the book I still couldn't find enough of a plot to keep me interested or a charecter that I cared enough about to want to get to know any better. Since my reading time is precious to me I regretfully closed the covers of the "Coffee Trader" and moved on.
What a time! What a place! November 26, 2007
S. Schwartz (alberta canada)
Amsterdam 1659. That is the setting for this very intelligent historical financial thriller. Amsterdam was a very interesting place at this time. This is where the financial world changed forever for the rest of the world.(Joint stock companies, futures, speculative trading all began here at this time.) This novel is very well-written, and the plot is very complex. Trying to keep a handle on the many dealings that Miguel has going on is almost dizzying. I will say that it never, ever got boring either because there was so much going on. There are secrets galore and many deceitful dealings in the Amsterdam exchange and it is certainly not for the faint of heart. It also showed me that not much has really changed in the fast-moving financial world. (Although I hope we have fewer corrumptions nowadays). And Liss weaves seventeenth century Jewish lives intricately throughout his tale. As slippery a customer as Miguel is, you can't help but like him and certainly admire him for his chutzpah. This book is not like any other historical fiction novel that I've read, and I truly enjoyed it.
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