Born came to suspect that Rubin was bluffing and there was no analysis.

Knight, now executive vice president and general counsel of the Nasdaq Stock Market, said he does not recall being asked for a legal analysis.

Why was Rubin so intent on protecting this “Dark Market,” as the Post calls it?

Another great nugget helps understand how off the tracks we really were in the couple of decades leading up to the bust—We had an unhinged radical running the economy for nearly twenty years:

Greenspan had an unusual take on market fraud, Born recounted: “He explained there wasn’t a need for a law against fraud because if a floor broker was committing fraud, the customer would figure it out and stop doing business with him.”

Even Steve Forbes or The Wall Street Journal editorial page would have a hard time arguing that line with a straight face.

Toward the end, the Post goes off the rails into feature land a bit too much here:

Sometimes this woman — whose mother always made her wear white gloves when they went downtown — doesn’t bother dyeing her hair, letting it go gray.

“I go through phases,” she said one afternoon, smiling and drawing a thin, small finger across her head. “I was just looking in the mirror this morning and thinking, ‘Maybe it’s time.’ “

Um, who cares?

Still, it’s good the paper gave Born’s story the play it deserved.

Ryan Chittum , a former Wall Street Journal reporter, is deputy editor of The Audit, CJR's business section. If you see notable business journalism, give him a heads-up at rc2538@columbia.edu.