i was very happy to come across the new yorker’s recent in-depth exploration of jérôme kerviel’s fall from grace at socgen (the omen by james b. stewart, october 20, 2008 – not available online). since the story broke, i’ve marveled at the 31 year-old breton’s unflappable cool in the face of a loss of 6.4 billion euros, an underreported factor in precipitating our present financial decline. the article makes a strong effort to paint kerviel as a reserved but ultimately reasonable man in a complicated, high-pressure field, but some details stand out. like this one: “kerviel attributed his reluctance to take holidays to the death of his father, from a heart attack, on february 23, 2006, an explanation that his superiors accepted. he wore the traditional french mourning attire, a black suit and tie, for a year [emphasis mine].” i really want to learn more about the inside of this guy’s head.