Boomerang, Michael Lewis

Boomerang:  Travels in the New Third World by Michael Lewis is a book that was featured on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.  The interview caught my attention, so I thought I should read the book.  I'm familiar with another of his works, Moneyball.

Started: 7/26/2013
Completed: 8/2/2013
Recommendation: For the 99%
Recommended by:  Jon Stewart

Review:

There was a big financial crash a little while back and there was lots of talk about how the whole financial system could collapse if the American Tax Payer didn't TARP out a ton of bucks.  So we did.  Now banks are making record profits again.  For the most part, we got our money back.  This book helps explain what started then and why it hasn't stopped.  DON'T LOOK AT SPAIN.  If you wondered why the whole banking system was at risk, this book is for you.  If you are sketchy on what a sub-prime mortgage is, go check that out before you start.  You might also want to bone up on swaps.  DON'T LOOK AT SPAIN.  This book does a decent job of explaining what happens even if the why, in detail, is rather difficult to follow.  The huge burned swath of the financial market is easy enough to navigate and this book works hard at making that navigation easy.  DON'T LOOK AT SPAIN.  There are no prognostications of where and how our next financial issue is going to hit, but the book does a really good job of describing how things happened from a personal perspective.  DON'T LOOK AT SPAIN.  Michael Lewis takes you to the individuals who both caused and are trying to resolve the mess.  Vallejo, CA was particularly sobering.  Most importantly, keep your head in the sand and don't look at Spain (when the book was written Spain was not the issue it is today).