Book Talk: The Big Short

The Big Short by Michael Lewis chronicles the roots and full bloom of the recent financial crisis based on the subprime mortgage market failure. It's still unbelievable that this even happened and that the American public got so little explanation and so few answers. To read this book is to stand amazed as democracy and hope burn to the ground; to read this book is to become enraged all over again at the antics of Wall Street and the failure and impotent actions of the government to address the real issues. I found myself shaking my head and gasping in sheer disbelief. Lewis's writing is amazingly understandable and I enjoyed the depth of his research and all his footnotes. I think I'm going to read some of his research documents if I can find them.

On a side note, I briefly worked with/for both Bank of America (slash Merrill Lynch) and UBS during the time frame of this book. I was a contracted partner with a separate corporation, but I still remember the feeling of unease as all of this started happening. I didn't realize what was going on at the time though I realize now that know one really knew, and maybe never will.