Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #281 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-03
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Review
"[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

"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

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.

Customer Reviews

An engagingly tragic narrative...
The author brings into focus that the current economic malaise is not only the fault of an inflated housing market and subprime problem, and estimates that writedowns and defaults of residential and commercial mortgages, junk bonds, bad loans and complex securitized bonds could reach US one trillion dollars...citing possible scenarios which could double or triple this amount once a widespread global panic occur. Morris expounds on Keynesian liberalism that gave government a role in achieving low inflation and unemployment but fast economic growth and then the change and the rise of the Chicago School free-market capitalism (Nobel laureate Milton Friedman). Morris then explores the three trends that conspired to create the great credit bubble, and then citing Alan Greenspan, the former Fed chairman as the final culprit. In clear, concise language, he then explains why the US economy is now in a long term decline and what to do about it. Even if you don't agree with the author, you can still benefit from his insights. It's a great and timely read!

Recommended reading for every market watcher/player
An easy read. Morris provides an informative, layman's explanation of what we're dealing with in the American and global credit market crisis. The book brings into focus a picture of how we got into this credit mess, what the various derivative, debt obligation and structured investment instruments are and how they're used and abused. The book provides a simple yet reasonable overview of the complex and intricate relationship between and function of the primary players in this multi-trillion dollar surreal credit game involving traders, banks, insurers, credit rating agencies, investment houses, the central bank and the economic and political environment in which this derivative game is played. Morris discusses how various economic schools of thought of the past 50-years have helped or hindered economic progress. Morris describes likely scenarios of how this crisis might unwind. While recognizing the merits of the market driven approach in the 80's and 90's he asserts it is time to implement some form of regulatory oversight. He calls for more transparency and integrity in the credit process and makes a case for a shift in our social priorities to better address issues of education and health care. In the six months or so since the book was written the credit crisis unwind has inched forward narrowly averting one disaster after another. After finishing the book I have wondered what the author would say today about the Fed's open discount window policies and seemingly unbridled willingness to swap US Treasuries for toxic derivative waste. This book is well worth the read.

The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash
Interesting reading: the facts and figures are well explained and help to understand the workings of this nebulous part of the Financial markets. However, later in the book, the author drifts into politica. One does not necessarilty join him in all his conclusions and predictions. There is a lack of balance there. Too bad, as it detracts from the value of the book.

Khalil