The Big Short is a very interesting book written about the financial meltdown of 2007-2008. The perspective is perhaps the freshest part: as the name implies it is written from the point of view of those who saw it coming: the shorts. There were at least several groups of people with the foresight to predict this disaster, and as you'd imagine, they made a lot of money when it crashed.
One item I can't get over after reading this book is how Moody's, S&P, and Fitch escaped without going under. These are the bond rating agencies that basically said a pile of horseshit was gold. This allowed countless municipalities and retirement funds to invest in securities that were definitely below investment grade. Lewis has an especially low opinion of the rating agencies, basically saying that Moody's employs the kids who rode the short bus to school. What the ratings agencies did do was likely negligent, but only time will tell if they are held accountable.
I also think for someone not well-versed with the situation, this book may be a good primer on what happened. That is, if you don't know the difference between a CDO and a CDS, you probably will after reading this book.
5/5 stars.
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