The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash - Hardcover

Morris, Charles R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1586485636 ISBN 13: 9781586485634

Publisher: PublicAffairs, 2008

Synopsis

We are living in the most reckless financial environment in recent history. Arcane credit derivative bets are now well into the tens of trillions. According to Charles R. Morris, the astronomical leverage at investment banks and their hedge fund and private equity clients virtually guarantees massive disruption in global markets. The crash, when it comes, will have no firebreaks. A quarter century of free-market zealotry that extolled asset stripping, abusive lending, and hedge fund secrecy will come crashing down with it.

The Trillion Dollar Meltdown explains how we got here, and what is about to happen. After the crash our priorities will be quite different. But things are likely to get worse before they better. Whether you are an active investor, a homeowner, or a contributor to your 401(k) plan, The Trillion Dollar Meltdown will be indispensable to understanding the gross excess that has put the world economy on the brink—and what the new landscape will look like.

About this title

About the Author:

Charles R. Morris has written ten books, including The Cost of Good Intentions, one of the New York Times' Best Books of 1980, The Coming Global Boom, a New York Times Notable Book of 1990, and The Tycoons, a Barrons' Best Book of 2005. A lawyer and former banker, Mr. Morris's articles and reviews have appeared in many publications including The Atlantic Monthly, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.

Review:

"Charles Morris, author of The Trillion Dollar Meltdown, isn't one for sugarcoating. His analysis is dour and grim, but certainly not dull. And when read against a backdrop of an ever-weaker economy, increasingly anxious economists and a stream of gloomy predictions, it can be downright scary....Morris serves up a sharp, thought-provoking historical wrap-up of the U.S. economy and its markets, along with clear scrutiny of today's economic woes."—USA Today, March 31, 2008"[A] shrewd primer... [Morris] writes with tight clarity and blistering pace."—James Pressley, Bloomberg News"Morris offers a persuasive diagnosis of the long-building credit crash.... An especially graceful writer, Mr. Morris accessibly explains Wall Street's arcane instruments.... This is a smart layperson's guide."—The New York Times, April 6, 2008“In his brief but brilliant book, Morris describes how we got into the mess we are in.... Few writers are as good as Morris at making financial arcana understandable and even fascinating.”—New York Times Book Review, April 20, 2008

“New York Times Notable Book of the Year”

"[The Trillion Dollar Meltdown] is an absolutely excellent narrative of the horror that we have in the credit markets right now.... It's a wonderful explanation of how it happened and why it's so rotten, and why it will take a long time to unwind."—Paul Steiger, former Mng Editor, Wall Street Journal

"However up to date it may seem, this book is no rush job. Morris deftly joins the dots between the Keynesian liberalism of the 1960s, the crippling stagflation of the 1970s and the free-market experimentation of the 1980s and 1990s, before entering the world of ultra-cheap money and financial innovation gone mad... [Morris's] provocative book is...a well-aimed opening shot in a debate that will only grow louder in coming months."—Economist, March 6, 2008"Will provide some important background that will help decipher the meaning behind today's gloomy financial headlines. For those who wonder "Why?", here's a place to get some answers!"—Watsonville (CA) Register-Pajaronian, March 13, 2008

About this edition

• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1586485636
• ISBN 13: 9781586485634
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224