The cost of public college has doubled since 1980 including inflation while wages have remained flat. Humans hate losing money more than they like making it. Humans are subject to fads. Even the most sophisticated traders exhibit herding behavior. American health care is extremely wasteful and is an operational mess; twice the per capita level of spending in other advanced countries, we are not getting a good deal. The best thing about this book was the author's ability to describe complicated financial instruments and strategies in an accessible manner. Morris takes you through the maze of mortgage-backed securities in a fairly straightforward way, making sure to define terms and to periodically remind the readers of concepts he's covered so that they don't become lost in a sea of acronyms. He draws out the underlying causes of the financial crisis and presents them in a useful historical and global context.I think the weakness of the book starts to show in the latter half, where the focus gets away from the main story about shifts in the US financial markets (primarily ones related to mortgage-backed securities), where Morris starts addressing other at-risk sectors and laying out recommendations for the future. It's not a bad showing, but it is noticeably less focused and analytical than the rest of the book.But if you're looking for a relatively accessible and balanced account of the very silly financial dynamics that brought the US and the world into its current financial crisis, this is probably a good books for you.
This is a very readable early explanation of the Great Contraction.
—maegan13
Very Interesting given the economic events this year.
—crbr4318
Same comment, dense and informative
—ROSCOACH
Oh boy, are we in trouble.
—wolf
