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Financial Shock A 360^(o) Look at the Subprime Mortgage Implosion, and How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis

Author : Mark Zandi Edition : 1 Number of Pages : 288 Publisher : FT Press

Product Description

From the Back Cover

The subprime financial crisis is the decade's #1 financial story. What happened? How did it occur? And how can we prevent similar crises from happening again? Dr. Mark Zandi answers all these critical questions - systematically, carefully, and in plain English. Zandi begins with a fast-paced "history" of the crisis: where it started, how it spread, and where the fallout has landed. Next, he illuminates its deepest causes, ranging from the psychology of homeownership to Alan Greenspan's missteps. You'll watch the "flippers" at work and the real estate agents who cheered them on. You'll learn how Internet technology and access to global capital transformed mortgage lending, helping irresponsible lenders "drive out" good ones. Zandi demystifies the complex financial engineering that enabled lenders to hide growing risks and shows how global investors eagerly bought in, despite key warning signs. You'll discover how homebuilders contributed to the crisis, and how flummoxed regulators and policymakers failed to prevent it. Zandi offers indispensable advice for investors who must recognize emerging bubbles, policymakers who must improve oversight and citizens who must reduce their risks, so they can survive whatever comes next.

Customer reviews

Capitivating book on our current crisis by .. Helen S. Lam ()
I highly recommend this book that explains the causes of our current financial crisis. It is written in layman's terms so those without a finance degree can easily understand it.

Review... by .. Tami Brandt (Missouri, USA)
In a time of uncertainty about where our politicians and bureaucrats are deciding what's best for our country, we, the people who elected those 'officials' can't rely solely on their decisions. We have to make decisions for ourselves, our future and our money. This book is a great resource to start with in going about taking control of your money and what you want to do it. Cause as Gov. Sarah Palin has stated before, we (the taxpayer) know better how we want our money spent than the politicians do.

Another timely read by .. N. Berry (USA)
Obviously the author has the advantage of hindsight, but if the country had this information 10 years ago, we'd not be in the current economic situation that we are. The book does a good job overviewing who dropped the ball, who hid the ball, and what we need to do to prevent a similar crisis in the future.

Presently, this should be a required read for those interested in the nation's economy. by .. Anthony Pantliano (Pearl River, NY)
Financial Shock is an extremely timely book about the sub-prime mortgage crisis. It claims to offer a 360^(o) look, and it certainly does. It covers everyone's involvement- from Lenders, Borrowers, Buildings, Flippers, Investors, Financial Engineers, and the Government. If all you knew about the sub-prime crisis was that a lot of people with poor credit started to default on their mortgages, than this books will open your eyes to just how much was involved, how many elements were needed to create the crisis, and how many people have been, and will, be effected by it. Many helpful charts and graphs are included to illustrate points as well. Lastly, it contains the author's 10 steps to remedy this situation and hopefully prevent a future occurrence.




I have followed the whole sub-prime debacle since the summer of 2007, and while I thought I knew a lot about it, I did not. The best aspect of the book is that it takes the many convoluted aspects that created the crisis and spells them out in layman's terms. I am no financial expert, the most I do is watch Suze Orman and follow CNBC, but I found everything understandable. Granted, the book is dry, and parts of it I had to plow through, but there was much more good than bad.



The book was published first published in July 2008 and the author had not yet seen the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, Fannie and Freddie bailout, and proposed $700 billion financial rescue plan. The last major event discussed in the book was the government-backed purchase of Bear Stearns by J.P. Morgan Chase, and he thought this event was monumental, so I can only imagine his reaction to the more recent news.



The negatives of the book, which may be changed in future printings, are that a handful of the charts and graphs used in the book are difficult to read. Either the text is too small or the colors used to designate different sections on a map are too similar. The book also sounds repetitious at times, so some pages could probably have been trimmed from the final printing.



All in all... As of this review's date, this is probably the most important read for all Americans, and in years to come it will still offer a look back at what caused the greatest financial upheaval since the Great Depression.

Perfect Timing by .. Bunson Honeydew (White Plains, NY)
I'll be honest, Mark Zandi is not my favorite economist on the financial channels. However, I salute him for his work. The timing of this could not be better, and Mr. Zandi said he is donating the profits of this book to charity.



I didn't find this book partisan; it was easy to read. I'm at a slight advantage because I understand the industry. Most people are financially clueless. We trust government to make our decisions and we get duped by corporations who know how to exploit all of this.




All of us need to understand the timeline of the mortgage mess. Read this book and get informed. There are other potential disasters lurking around the next corner.