I could not finish. The combination of the narration by the author and the author’s admitted biases were too much for me. It stretched non-fiction beyond my belief and was unenjoyable.

Thanks to Forbes Books and Advantage Media Group via NetGalley for an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyment of this book is entirely dependent on whether you were in New York at the time that these events happened. I was. If you know nothing of these events, you might be able to get through it, taking the author's story as the reality of what happened. However, this book was written from a biased viewpoint as a sort of "this is what really happened" kind of thing. Unfortunately, this version of the story, is not the reality. It is a Trump-like book of "alternate facts" .

Michael Milken was the most successful and innovative financier of his time, until 1986, when the SEC and the U.S. Attorney began an investigation into Milken and the investment firm he worked for. Richard Sandler decided to represent Milken as his personal lawyer, and to be responsible for working with the lawyers they hired as well as overseeing the defense. This was a good read for me.

Michael Milken was the most successful and innovative financier of his time, until 1986, when the SEC and the U.S. Attorney began an investigation into Milken and the investment firm he worked for. Richard Sandler decided to represent Milken as his personal lawyer, and to be responsible for working with the lawyers they hired as well as overseeing the defense. But they could never have dreamed of the chaos that lay ahead. The injustice that Milken faced through the investigation and trial was of epic proportions. After 36 years, Sandler in this book decides to set the record straight by providing never-before-seen transcripts of court documents and a sharp analysis of each move and countermove.

This was my first @netgalley audiobook! This was definitely an interesting story and I learned a lot about white collar crime. Sometimes all the financial and investments talk was a bit over my head and the legalese was fine with me as a lawyer but might be a little complex for some. Overall this was a very compelling account of white collar crime and the unusual trial and sentencing of a genuinely good man who was used by the SEC and the U.S. Attorney as an example and a scapegoat. The audiobook performance was great!

The details in this book were immense! There was a lot that I felt like I didn’t understand simply due to my lack of knowledge around the financial system. However, my knowledge of the criminal system is more in depth and those parts I did understand. There was so much of this that felt political and I think it’s good to draw a light to all of it. I’m certain that Mike isn’t the only one who has had this experience or something similar (even though the author tried many times to say how unique this case was). I think it’s so important to draw light to the big agencies and their impact to people’s lives.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this audiobook. All opinions and thoughts are my own. From this the beginning of the story I tried to keep an open mind even when things weren’t making sense and I wasn’t convinced about Michael Milken innocence. Whenever I read a nonfiction book especially of this type of situation, I always do my own research. From what I gather I wouldn’t say I’m convinced of his innocence. Nevertheless the story was easy to understand and I like that this story was being told from someone who knew Milken on a personal level. Knowing someone growing up and knowing them as adults working doesn’t mean you truly know who they are.

"Witness to a Prosecution: The Myth of Michael Milken" gives a firsthand account of the federal investigation into Michael Milken and the High Yield and Convertible Bond Department, a department Michael created and headed at Drexel Burnham Lambert, a multinational investment bank. If you are interested in understanding the criminal investigative process or you want to understand who Michael Milken is and what really happened to him, then this is the book for you.

In 1986, the SEC and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York began investigating Michael Milken and the High Yield and Convertible Bond Department. At the time, Michael was the most successful and innovative financier and Drexel Burnham Lambert was the most successful securities firm on Wall Street, thanks to Michael. The author and narrator of the book, Richard Sandler, was a childhood friend of Michael's. The two friends went to high school and college together, lived together in the same fraternity, and began working together in 1983. When the investigation started in 1986, Sandler became Michael's personal lawyer and was responsible for working with the lawyers they hired and overseeing Michael's defense. Having firsthand knowledge of Michael and the prosecution, Sandler wrote this book because he wanted the true story told.

This was a really fascinating book setting the record straight. The author's experience as someone intimately involved in workings of the High Yield Department at Drexel, in the details of the investigation, and in Michael's defense made this a very important story to tell. Everything in the book was based upon court documents, transcripts from the classes Sandler taught, and Sandler's own firsthand accounts of what really happened. As a former prosecutor, I found this to be a very eye-opening book, and I learned a lot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Advantage Media Group, Forbes Books for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

When writing a book most authors want to write away that connects with their readers in this book we hear about fraternities the milk and Institute him teaching classes at Stanford his paternity… Stocks bonds fraud and he says he’s known this guy for over 30 years until he knows he’s not guilty yet the man was found guilty spent two years in prison and was acquitted by… Wait For it… Donald Trump! I understood most of what he was saying especially when it got into the judicial part of the book but I found his writing in his reading of it was mostly for ego sake but having said that I still finished it only because I enjoy rage reading and was really waiting for the sky to make a good case for his friend and himself but the last did never happened. Not to mention he narrated the book itself and although his reading was clear I just felt like the book would’ve been better as a Kindle book or read by a professional narrator.