It reads like a scary history novel, but it's indeed the analysis of the financial collapse in 2008, explaining not only what went down, but the historical context of why and how the system started to crumble. Lanchester's book taught me a lot about the technicals of the financial market that are important to understand that you just wouldn't get through the media. I.O.U takes a look at our cultural values as a nation and participants of a global economy, the intentions of the financial market, the governments influence and response to financial shocks and why debt is so addictive.
Motivations to Read
The effects of the financial crisis were still settling when I first picked up this book. Debt was a scary word, but it was everywhere. I soon realized our whole society was built and backed by debt. It was confusing to me, why can't we solve our debt problems. When access to credit was tight, the economy faltered, I wanted to know why everyone owes and why no one can pay.
3 Reasons to Read
- Learn more about the Financial Crisis, with focus on the explosion of cheap credit
- View the crisis through the lens of politics, culture, contemporary history and from the invention and widespread misuse of financial instruments
- Lanchester explains complicated technical material in a short, concise and easy to understand way
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