Brian Lee
Jul 03, 2025
Flash Boys by Michael Lewis is an eye-opening and easy-to-read book about the world of high-frequency trading. Some parts may be a little outdated because rules have changed, but the main ideas are still very important today.
If you believe short-term trading can bring big profits, this book is worth your time. But here’s the truth: most of us can’t beat the professional trading firms. These companies use super-fast computers to make trades in microseconds. They’re designed to spot tiny mistakes and take advantage of small price changes before anyone else can react.
We often hear advice like “just take the 1% gain” or “profit from small price moves.” That sounds simple, but it’s misleading. While I advocate compounding small gains every day, my approach is about building long-term assets—not chasing fast gains through constant trading.
As a software engineer, I understand how large systems work. Companies like Amazon focus on continuous improvement relentlessly. They succeed by making tiny gains—sometimes just one extra cent—over millions of transactions. Many of us do not have enough resources to compete with large software systems like those.
The book also shows how big trading firms get special access to the market. They pay millions for faster connections and private trading options that regular people don’t have. Competing with that just doesn’t make sense for most of us.
Flash Boys helped me see that. It changed how I think about trading. After reading it, I stopped trying to “day trade” and started focusing on building long-term assets.
I highly recommend this book. It’s interesting, well-written, and it might just change the way you think about investing.