- ISBN13: 9780393067941
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Groundbreaking New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product DescriptionThe fiasco that sank millions of Americans, including one journalist, who thought he knew better. A veteran New York Times economics reporter, Ed Andrews was intimately aware of the dangers posed by simple mortgages from quick-buck lenders. Yet, at the promise of a second chance at like, he succumbed to the temptation of subprime lending and became part of the economic catastrophe he was covering. In surprisingly small order, he amassed a staggerin. . . More >>
Busted: Life Inside the Fantastic Mortgage Meltdown
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I bought this book for my Kindle at 10 pm and finished it by noon the next day. I couldn’t place it down. The author weaves his own mortgage and debt crisis in with the larger picture of how the mortgage crisis happened, who the players were/are, and why it broke the economy. I came away from this book not only with a much greater sense of mortgage finance, but with a pathos for people who got caught in a maelstrom they were unable to control.
Rating: 4 / 5
I tend to not read blogs because they often show the worst qualities in people and are filled with rage and misplaced accusations. This series of book reviews reads like a typical irate blog. It also reminds me of my mother’s advice to not throw stones unless you are completely blameless.
I have not yet read the book. But I have a passing acquaintance with Ed and worked at a mortgage company that held his loan. It is so simple for everyone to point fingers and trash every possible target – tainted `arms’ throwing stones. It appears that few reviewers/bloggers ever made terrible relationship choices, overly optimistic financial gambles, or decisions based on what their heart felt. It makes me reckon that Nike should change their slogan from “Just Do It” to “Never Try Anything That Could Lead to Failure of Any Kind. ” Excellent grief.
But the huge question to me is why is everyone slamming Ed’s wife? I read at least a book a week and I do that for entertainment, knowledge, and relaxation. Based on the reviews showing so far, there is only one that would lead me to choose whether or not to buy the book:
“I bought this book for my Kindle at 10 pm and finished it by noon the next day. I couldn’t place it down. The author weaves his own mortgage and debt crisis in with the larger picture of how the mortgage crisis happened, who the players were/are, and why it broke the economy. I came away from this book not only with a much greater sense of mortgage finance, but with a pathos for people who got caught in a maelstrom they were unable to control. ”
Based on that, I am keen to read the book, regardless of the inclusion or omission of his wife’s Sak’s bills.
Rating: 5 / 5
This is one of the best explanations I’ve read about how the financial crisis came about. It does a fantastic job of demystifying the financial markets and clarifies in digestible English this historic event where economies around the world nearly collapsed. Most of the developed world governments have essentially “bet their country” to stave off distaster and this its not over yet. Andrews’ personal tale helps make the topic digestible and approachable and may make some people feel better about the mistakes they made. That, but, is an aside. And the noise about his wife’s prior bankruptcies certainly was not a factor world financial markets. . .
Rating: 5 / 5
This is an update of a review I wrote in May titled “I’ve Ordered My Copy”. At the time, I wrote to offset some of the putrid bile of some reviewers, many of whom had not read (and may never read) the book, trusting that I could recommend the writer, not so much because I knew him when he was younger, but because I’ve followed Andrews’ career for many years and always admired his writing.
He did not disappoint. The writing is erudite, instructive not so much about economics — though the house bets of the Wall Street Casino over the past few years are thoroughly chronicled — but about the American attitude of entitlement at the beginning of the 21st Century. There are life lessons in this book.
Are we Americans so gullible and needy that we turn American Dream(s, there is more than one) over to merchandise peddlers, scrambling at the shrill voices of hucksters to get what’s ours? Why do we trade our own dreams for debt?
Andrews, as many reviewers have noted, is well-educated and astute. Apparently, it was only recently that he learned he had the heart of a romantic. I suggest that this book may be centered on a smart man with experience in finances and the schooling of close observation of the nation’s political and economical life who does something out of character, but the actions he takes that are so out of character are telling, too, and a major part of this tale.
He tells others his dreams, and then lets others choose the details of those dreams. He’s the huge picture man, cultured to be so by years of reporting. He was a workaholic who worked himself out of a marriage, then rediscovered a childhood dream. He did not know anything about dreams any more. He probably was only guessing when trying out tactics to please his like or keep her.
If he was going to be a rooster again, he needed panache. What did she want? What does anyone want? Luckily, we live in a nation of consultants. We don’t have to reckon things out anymore, we just need to know who to turn to for advice. The experts said: she needed a nest.
Ah! But you can’t live on like, Edmund Andrews!
I won’t repeat the many supportive comments in other reviews here, or defend this book to those who don’t like it. (I had raspberry zinger tea with breakfast this morning. What did you have?)
But something not mentioned I want to note.
Some have suggested that Andrews may have written this book solely to pay off his mortgage and other debts. It’s naive to suggest that authors routinely become wealthy on the basis of a single book, and given Andrews’ debts, kings’ riches might be required to bring his head back above water. More often on books, especially non-fiction, the sales are not enough to earn more than whatever advance the author received for the actual writing.
And just as often, the advance is given to replace the salary of the writer’s regular employment while some time off is taken to complete the project. So, the incentive for Andrews’ writing the book in the first place may not have been completely financial.
Oh, sure, any small bit helps when you’re in financial straits such as his, but Andrews is, after all, a writer, and he had an vital tale running around in his head, maybe the most vital tale of his caeer. Anyone who doesn’t see that as reason enough for Andrews to sit down at the keyboard may not know very much about the creative spirit.
But I suggest another motivation. His wife, the like of his life, his dream, his real dream, may be as far away from him emotionally by the end of the book as the width of the continent that divided them at the beginning of his tale.
I read in the media recently that the Andrews were still together, still determined they would stay together. Andrews needed to go home and spend some time with his wife, get reaquainted. So he stayed home to write for a few months instead of going into the office every day. At that time his wife was working out of the house too.
I know he missed his first deadline, something journalists learn quickly not to do. Was staying home not a conducive grindstone?
Who says there are no second acts in America?
Besides, it’s cynical to reckon everything is about money. . . .
Rating: 5 / 5
I found myself unable to place this book down. It held my attention and it made me feel not alone in these troubling times. Edmund Andrews had a tale to tell and he did it in a sophisticated and compelling way. He opens up your eyes to all this morgage balony. Fantastic title and book cover!
Rating: 5 / 5