Pat Girondi spent a literal fortune trying to develop a drug to treat a disease called Thalassemia, which his son suffers with. The story of his life, growing up in the very very rough south side Italian neighborhoods of Chicago, committing crimes at a young age, become a trader in Chicago, also becoming a pretty good singer, earning the money that let him try to save his son, and the incredible treachery and fraud which he faced throughout the drug research and development process, make his new book "Flight of the Rondone" one of the most remarkable, entertaining, and intense things I've read in a long time. It is absolutely in my top 10 book suggestions for 2022.
As a guy who knew Pat on the floor, it's almost funny to see his Wikipedia page list him first as a singer and composer: Patrick Girondi - Wikipedia
Please buy and read this book: Flight of the Rondone | Book by Patrick Girondi | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster (simonandschuster.com)
A special note: I do not think Pat will remember me, but he was a trader in the first trading pit I was in as a new market-maker at the Chicago Board Options Exchange. I started in 1987...Pat had been there for a while already. He had a reputation as an unbelievable bad boy and trouble-maker. In fact, in the book he tells one of the stories he's famous for. I very much doubt that Pat will be interviewed for this book by anyone who also traded at the CBOE with him and, again, I don't think he'll remember me but it will still be a lot of fun to talk about.