by Alan S. Blinder (Get the Book)As a former economics adviser in the Clinton administration and former Federal Reserve governor, Blinder (economics, Princeton Univ.) has a lot to say about the causes and consequences of the 2007-09 financial crisis. In a generally chronological account, the author runs through how poor lending practices, coupled with securitization and high degree of leverage, precipitated the crisis. He then covers the ameliorative emergency and long-term policies through late 2012, examining the consequential financial reform efforts with particular attention to the Dodd-Frank legislation. Blinder questions the failure to prevent more home foreclosures. He criticizes Republicans for obstructionism and the Obama administration for not better convincing the public of the necessity for stimulus, deficit spending, and radical Federal Reserve strategies. Looking forward, the text contemplates how the administration and the Federal Reserve will be able to unwind their stimulative policies, touching on the European crisis and concluding with a list of precepts to future crises. Blinder's explanations of complex topics simple, such as moral hazard and quantitative easing, are kept simple. VERDICT This work is highly recommended to all readers desiring a comprehensible postmortem of the economic and political ramifications of the financial crisis. --Library Journal
