Father of Risk Arbitrage, Guy Wyser-Pratte, Returns with Memoir Charting a Lifetime of Market Battles

E&R Publishers is proud to announce: The Untold Story Behind the Pioneer of Risk Arbitrage and Global Corporate Activism

Legendary Investor Guy Wyser-Pratte Releases Long-Awaited Memoir, Cutting My Own Path—The Guy Wyser-Pratte Story. Published by E&R Publishers, New York.

Renowned risk arbitrageur and activist investor Guy Wyser-Pratte has released his long-anticipated memoir, Cutting My Own Path—a sweeping personal and financial journey from a USMC Infantry officer to the boardrooms of Europe. The book is now available through major retailers and via the official website, www.cuttingmyownpath.com.

This is Wyser-Pratte’s first book since publishing Risk Arbitrage: An Investor’s Guide with Wiley, the pioneering text that became the definitive work on the practice of event-driven investing. With Cutting My Own Path, he turns the lens inward, telling the extraordinary story behind his financial career, political activism, military service, and lifelong defiance of conventional norms.

From the son of French émigrés to U.S. Marine officer, from Wall Street rebel to shareholder rights crusader, Wyser-Pratte’s memoir offers a rare glimpse into the mind and mission of a man who has made—and challenged—markets, laws, and legacies on both sides of the Atlantic.

“Cutting My Own Path is more than a memoir. It’s a philosophy,” says Wyser-Pratte. “I’ve lived by a code that says you don’t just play by the rules—you question who wrote them, and why. Whether leading Marines, on the floor of the stock exchange, or inside a hostile takeover, I’ve learned that courage and clarity matter more than credentials.”

Spanning eight decades and featuring behind-the-scenes accounts of financial battles, political crossroads, and international intrigue, the memoir has already drawn attention from investors, veterans, journalists, and global leaders. Wyser-Pratte’s deep involvement in shareholder democracy, his fierce legal fights against entrenched corporate boards, and his strategic insights on market dynamics have positioned him as a legend in activist circles.

Highlights of the memoir include:

The Marine Corps Years: Serving as a U.S. Marine and witnessing firsthand the costs of political indecision.

Wall Street Reinvented: Rising through the brokerage ranks before launching Wyser-Pratte & Co., and shaping a bold new model for risk arbitrage investing.

Corporate Battles in Europe: Leading high-profile campaigns to oust complacent management, including legal showdowns in France and Germany that changed corporate governance norms.

Unfiltered Reflections: On America’s evolving capitalism, global power shifts, and why institutional investors must reclaim their voice.

The release of Cutting My Own Path arrives at a moment of renewed interest in investor activism, corporate responsibility, and the intersection of military leadership and business ethics. The book’s candid tone and unflinching detail make it a rare contribution to both financial literature and contemporary memoir.

Wyser-Pratte’s earlier book Risk Arbitrage, published by Wiley in 1999, remains the seminal resource for professionals and students of M&A strategy, arbitrage theory, and market behavior. The new memoir expands this legacy, giving personal context to the principles that made his investment firm one of the most respected in the field.

About Guy Wyser-Pratte:
Guy Wyser-Pratte is the founder of Wyser-Pratte & Co., Inc., a risk arbitrage and shareholder activism firm based in New York. A Marine Corps officer who graduated from the University of Rochester on a Navy Scholarship in 1962 and is widely regarded as one of the earliest and most influential voices in global shareholder rights. He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Handelsblatt, Le Figaro, Paris Match, Financial Times, CNBC, Le Monde, and countless other leading outlets.

Simon Mills
E&R Publishers New York
+1 917-733-1427

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