Timothy Spangler is one of those people who knows private equity and hedge funds inside out. With 20 years’ experience as a lawyer in the industry, he is an informative guide to its terminology and technicalities.

But his very enthusiasm for the subject - at one point he describes the "thrill and raw emotion" involved in drafting an offering memorandum - can make this an overwhelming book for the general reader who, Spangler says, is part of his intended audience. Making 358 pages about private equity into a page-turner is no easy task and unfortunately this book does not quite hit the mark.