Michael Lewis, ‘Moneyball’ Author, Innocent

Michael Lewis writes best-selling books–sometimes about subjects that aren’t easy to understand. Moneyball and The Blind Side, while complicated in parts, are among the simpler of Lewis’ offerings. His 2010 book The Big Short–an absolutely riveting account of the complex 2008 financial crisis–was harder. But Lewis did what he’s the best at–using personalities to carry much of the narrative burden. One of the personalities in The Big Short didn’t like it too much, and sued Lewis for libel.

A US Circuit Court of Appeals just found Lewis not guilty of libeling money manager Wing Chau in a chapter entitled “Spider-Man at the Venetian.” The court’s decision was by a 2-1 vote.