The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis (2010: Non-Fiction)
The Big Short is "about the build-up of the housing and credit bubble during the 2000s. It describes several of the key players in the creation of the credit default swap market that sought to bet against the bubble and thus ended up profiting from the financial crisis of 2007-2010. The book also highlights the eccentric nature of the type of person who bets against the market or goes against the grain." (Wikipedia)
I never would have thought The Big Short would be something I'd pick up, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. I'll be frank, I hate money. Economics? ZzZzZzZzZzZz. Still, it's important to know this stuff, even if it's usually too complicated for the average person. Being one of those people, I was worried about understanding the content of this book, but Lewis does a great job of explaining the economic crisis in terms anyone can understand. More importantly, he focuses in on individual stories, making the book infinitely more dynamic and readable. If you're curious about how the housing crisis developed, as you should be, this is worth a read. And trust me, you will be appalled and disgusted!
