Prophets of Doom

The current economic mess we're facing wasn't entirely unforeseen; check out these books for insight into the origins of the financial abyss:

The subprime solution : how today's global financial crisis happened, and what to do about it (332.722 SH621S) by Robert Shiller (2008).
As Yale University economist Robert Shiller demonstrates in his short, whip-smart new book "The Subprime Solution," there was a contagion at work that helped pushed home prices to unsustainable levels.
In what he describes as a 'brief manifesto,' Mr. Shiller argues that bailouts of distressed borrowers are inevitable to avoid wrecking our economy and shredding our social fabric--even though bailouts may punish the prudent (say, through higher taxes) while comforting those who gambled on real estate and lost.(James R. Hagerty Wall Street Journal )

The world is curved : hidden dangers to the global economy
(337 SM41W ) by David Smick (2008).
With this illuminating book, Smick revisits Thomas Friedman's description of the "flat" world produced by globalization, arguing instead that the uncertainty produced by globalized financial markets has created a world that is curved, where events and their consequences are unpredictable. Smick begins with a puzzle: why did the subprime mortgage crisis, an event that directly impacted a relatively small piece of the global market, have such a catastrophic impact on the world market as a whole?

The trillion dollar meltdown : easy money, high rollers, and the great credit crash
(332.0415 M831T ) by Charles Morris (2008)

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.

The new paradigm for financial markets : the credit crisis of 2008 and what it means
(332.0973 SO69N ) by George Soros (2008)
In the midst of the most serious financial upheaval since the Great Depression, legendary financier George Soros explores the origins of the crisis and its implications for the future. Soros, whose breadth of experience in financial markets is unrivaled, places the current crisis in the context of decades of study of how individuals and institutions handle the boom and bust cycles that now dominate global economic activity. “This is the worst financial crisis since the 1930s,” writes Soros in characterizing the scale of financial distress spreading across Wall Street and other financial centers around the world. In a concise essay that combines practical insight with philosophical depth, Soros makes an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the great credit crisis and its implications for our nation and the world.

Empire of debt : the rise of an epic financial crisis
(336.340973 B6434E) by William Bonner (2006)
In America, we know what we have to do. We have an empire to run. Outlying places to police. People to boss around. Sabres to rattle. And an economy that has to remain Numero Uno. Unfortunately, history shows that running an empire is a disastrously expensive business. You pay in cash. You pay in blood. And you pay with your own soul.


The shock doctrine : the rise of disaster capitalism
(330.122 K672S, also on CD) by Naomi Klein (2007)
An introduction to the concept of "disaster capitalism" offers an exposé of how the global "free market" has exploited crises, violence, and shock over the past three decades to promote radical privatization that benefits large corporations and powerfulinterest groups.