A review by phouweling
How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities by John Cassidy

4.0

It's like the author says himself in the Conclusion: "If the reader feels like he or she has read two books, or, possibly, three, ... " It definitely felt like two books to me. In the "first book" the author describes two competing streams of thought in economics: 'utopian economics' and 'reality-based economics'. It describes various well-known and influential economic thinkers and their theories, like Hayek, Smith, Keynes, Minsky, Friedman, Fama and many authors, and especially the debate between the two streams. I think this is the best part of the book. The "second book" is a description of the built-up and unfolding of the subprime crisis of 2008. This part of the book is more standard, containing a lot of facts and figures, and less interpretation by the author. If you haven't read anything on the subprime crisis yet, you'll probably find it worth your while. If you have, well, then you may be a bit disappointed by this part of the book, just like me.