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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
jwmortensen's review against another edition
5.0
Cassidy provides not just a persuasive and insightful discussion of the 2008 mortgage crisis, he also presents an intriguing and easily digestible history of economics. Highly recommended.
balhau's review against another edition
5.0
I usually don't give five stars to a book. This is an exception. The book is, simply put, an amazing one. The writer is a very knowledgeable one in terms of economic affairs he is also a very lucid and clear when putting ideas into paper. A very notable thing is that, despite the almost 400 pages of information the quantity of bullshit/void information is practically non existent. I'd saved precisely 50 notes of notable passages and finished the book with a much more clear idea of what are the financial markets the role in the wealth of nations and the respective risks that arise from the financial leverage that they use to foster the economy with the needed money.
The book starts with a exposure to classical economics, here known as utopian economics, and then it uses the knowledge acquired to build a new approach to a more pragmatic way of doing economics in this book called Reality-Based economics. Topics like the problem of hidden information, prisoner's dilemma and rational herd are exploited to show how, in certain circumstances, the free market just doesn't work. The third part is an serious analysis of the 2008 by noting the importance of the concepts previously introduced.
The book is of enormous importance and the information here is gold. I recomend this book to all responsible adult that want to have a more serious opinion about markets and ultimately in political economy
The book starts with a exposure to classical economics, here known as utopian economics, and then it uses the knowledge acquired to build a new approach to a more pragmatic way of doing economics in this book called Reality-Based economics. Topics like the problem of hidden information, prisoner's dilemma and rational herd are exploited to show how, in certain circumstances, the free market just doesn't work. The third part is an serious analysis of the 2008 by noting the importance of the concepts previously introduced.
The book is of enormous importance and the information here is gold. I recomend this book to all responsible adult that want to have a more serious opinion about markets and ultimately in political economy
theangrylawngnome's review against another edition
3.0
Bowing and scraping before the altar of orthodox Keynesianism to an embarassing degree does not make you wrong. Nor does it make you right. It simply makes you irritating. Especially when the facts muddy your nifty theory, as when the author ignores several commentators who ALSO predicted a housing bubble and who think Keynesian economics is nothing but nonsense. (Peter Schiff, anyone? Michael Shedlock?) His work lost a LOT of credibility, at least in my eyes, by making an oversight I can only consider intentional. As both Schiff and Shedlock were all over the media predicting gloom and doom.
Pity he also didn't name names to the flip-side of Keynesianism, as with those surpluses governments are supposed to run when times are good. Which politician has ever done that again? (And, no, Bill Clinton didn't, despite the fairy tales spouted at HuffPo, etc.)
Okay, now that I've hacked up those hairballs, "Part 3" was superbly written and researched. Cassidy managed to capture Greenspan as both a deer in the headlights about how the crisis hit while still managing to (mostly) deny that any of it had anything to do with him. Also, a very solid job describing the creation of MBS's of all stripes, though he probably should have had more to say about AIG.
Please note that I am hardly offering any sort of defense for the administration of GWB, simply noting that there's a lot more out there than this book mentions.
Pity he also didn't name names to the flip-side of Keynesianism, as with those surpluses governments are supposed to run when times are good. Which politician has ever done that again? (And, no, Bill Clinton didn't, despite the fairy tales spouted at HuffPo, etc.)
Okay, now that I've hacked up those hairballs, "Part 3" was superbly written and researched. Cassidy managed to capture Greenspan as both a deer in the headlights about how the crisis hit while still managing to (mostly) deny that any of it had anything to do with him. Also, a very solid job describing the creation of MBS's of all stripes, though he probably should have had more to say about AIG.
Please note that I am hardly offering any sort of defense for the administration of GWB, simply noting that there's a lot more out there than this book mentions.