Reviews

All the Devils are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis by Bethany McLean, Joe Nocera

ewynn610's review against another edition

1

sshparker's review against another edition

3.0

Still need to finish this book. Had to return it. On page 138

sbaunsgard's review against another edition

4.0

Good overview of the financial crisis. Being a longtime listener of NPR's Planet Money, and a former employee of both a bank and an escrow company, I wasn't exactly surprised at most of this. It connected some of the dots for me. For example, it explains why institutions would get involved with financial instruments based on loans with poor underwriting standards and bogus credit ratings. It explains why Goldman survived and Lehman didn't. It also covers why Fannie and Freddy were so hard to criticize, much less change. What I most enjoyed was the insight into the psychology of the parties involved. The book is long. Though it is not difficult to understand, due to the subject matter, it is dense and detailed. I would suggest reading it in chunks to avoid frustration. I think the only issue I had with the book was that I was trying to take it on too quickly, and it was a bit frustrating.

ddeery's review against another edition

5.0

This was a phenomenal telling of the story of the financial crisis. It's not a short read, but as the authors point out, it wasn't a simple crisis. There are a lot of players and a LOT of arcane jargon. But McLean and Nocera do a great job of explaining things, and they keep the story interesting. I wish everyone would read this book, especially those who want to blame low-income people or Fannie and Freddie for the financial crisis. This book calls out many instances of just staggering greed and hubris in the financial industry. Read it, then call your congressman and ask for a better regulatory environment!

fluffdragon's review against another edition

4.0

Great introduction to how the 2000's financial crisis occurred. I wish there had been a bit more about what the crisis led to, but that (I suppose) is another book.

Also, I have Thoughts about white dudes being the audiobook narrator of choice for business books. It would be one thing if this were the same team as [b:The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron|113576|The Smartest Guys in the Room The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron|Bethany McLean|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309204701l/113576._SY75_.jpg|1604], but only Bethany McLean has returned for this compendium. Why is the narrator a dude? It was distractingly perplexing to me.

jumbleread's review against another edition

5.0

I thought I understood what happened, and I did, but I also had no idea of the personalities, unintended consequences, evil and good actors, including citizens and CEOs who brought on the 2007 economic recession. Excellent read -

lmm263's review

informative slow-paced

4.0

nrichtsmeier's review against another edition

4.0

Phenomenal. Rich. Thorough.

While slightly tinged with a liberal anti-business edge, this no-holds-barred expose of the 2008 financial crisis and its preceding events should be required reading in every college finance class in America. It's well written. It's intensely researched. It reads like a Oscar-nominated screenplay.

Don't miss it.

junefish's review against another edition

challenging informative slow-paced

3.75

oisin175's review against another edition

3.0

Very informative, but it sacrificed coherence for comprehensiveness. Too many "characters" were introduced to easily follow and insufficient explanation was given to the actual financial tools at issue. I think Michael Lewis writes about the financial crisis in a more entertaining and intelligible fashion. Overall, this book needed an editor to focus the narrative and cut some of the extraneous details. Not bad, but other books have handled the issues better.