Clue:
"Hell is empty, and all the devils are here."
--Shakespeare, The Tempest
As
soon as the financial crisis erupted, the finger-pointing began. Should the blame fall on Wall Street, Main
Street, or Pennsylvania Avenue? On
greedy traders, misguided regulators, sleazy subprime companies, cowardly
legislators, or clueless home buyers?
According
to authors Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera, two of America's most acclaimed
business journalists, the real answer is . . all of the above -- and more. Many devils helped bring hell to the US economy.
And
the full story, in all of its complexity and detail, reminds us of the legend
of the blind men and the elephant -- almost everyone has missed the big picture;
almost no one has put all the pieces together.
All the Devils Are Here
is the name of this book that does
put all the pieces together. In a way no
previous book has done, it takes us back 30 years to begin weaving together the
fascinating but previously hidden historical roots of the financial crisis,. It explores the motivations of everyone from
famous CEOs, cabinet secretaries, and politicians, . . to anonymous lenders,
borrowers, analysts, and Wall Street traders, weaving them all into a tapestry
of crystal clear explanation. Along the
way it delves into the powerful American mythology of homeownership, and argues
that the crisis ultimately wasn't so much about finance as it was about human
nature.
Among
the "devils' you'll meet in vivid detail are those that possessed the following
people:
Angelo Mozilo, the CEO of Countrywide, who dreamed of spreading homeownership
to the masses, only to succumb to the peer pressure -- and the outsized profits
-- of the sleaziest subprime lending.
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