The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown
Simon Johnson is Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship at
MIT's Sloan School of Management and a senior fellow of the
Peterson Institute for International Economics. He is coauthor,
with James Kwak, of The Baseline Scenario, a leading economic blog,
described by Paul Krugman as "a must-read" and by Bill Moyers as
"one of the most informative news sites in the blogosphere."
James Kwakis an Associate Professor at the University of
Connecticut School of Law. He previously co-founded Guidewire
Software.
Visit the authors' blog at baselinescenario.com.
“An enticing vision of a Wall Street confined… a safer, saner
system that has learned from its mistakes.”
—The Wall Street Journal
“A provocative prescription for avoiding a repeat of the panic of
2008 that brought the world to the brink of a second
Depression.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“Two of the sharpest critics of the financial establishment. . . .
This book puts America’s banking system on trial.”
—Financial Times
“[13 Bankers] holds an explosive idea: Wall Street has hijacked our
government. And without a total overhaul, taxpayers will endlessly
foot the bill for its sins.”
—Fortune
“A well-documented appeal to embrace once again Thomas Jefferson’s
skepticism of concentrated banking power.”
—The New York Times
“The best explanation yet for how the smart guys on Wall Street led
us to the brink of collapse. In the process, Johnson and Kwak
demystify our financial system, stripping it down to expose the
ruthless power grab that lies at its center.”
—Elizabeth Warren, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School; and Chair,
TARP Congressional Oversight Panel
“Too many discussions of the Great Recession present it as a purely
economic phenomenon. . . . Simon Johnson was the first to
point out that this was and is a crisis of political economy. His
and James Kwak’s analysis of the unholy inter-twining of Washington
and Wall Street—a cross between the gilded age and a banana
republic—is essential reading.”
—Niall Ferguson, Professor of History, Harvard University;
Professor, Harvard Business School; and author of The Ascent of
Money
“A disturbing and painstakingly researched account of how the banks
wrenched control of government and society out of our hands—and
what we can do to seize it back.”
—Bill Moyers
“Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what comes
next for the world economy. Dangerous and reckless elements of our
financial sector have become too powerful and must be reined in. If
this problem is not addressed there is serious trouble in all our
futures.”
—Nouriel Roubini, Professor of Economics, Leonard N. Stern School
of Business, New York University; and Chairman of Roubini Global
Economics
“Beautifully written and powerful. Ties the current financial
crisis to a cycle of politics as old as the Republic, and to a
pathology in our politics that is as profound as any that our
Republic has faced. Required reading for the President, and anyone
else who cares for this Republic.”
—Lawrence Lessig, Director of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center
for Ethics, Harvard University
“Johnson and Kwak not only tell us in great detail how the crisis
happened and what we must do to avoid another crisis, but they see
the deeper political and cultural context that permitted
carelessness and excess nearly to break the financial system and
plunge us into a depression.”
—Bill Bradley, former U.S. Senator
“A chilling tale of the dangers of concentrated economic,
intellectual, and political power. Even if you do not agree with
everything the authors have to say, this book makes it clear why
ending ‘too big to fail’ and reforming the institutions that
perpetuate it are essential for our nation’s future economic
prosperity and, more fundamentally, our democratic system.”
—U.S. Senator Jim Bunning
“This book is remarkable in its scope and conclusions. It places
changes in financial services and the sector’s regulation over the
last twenty years in the context of the last two hundred, and the
comparison isn’t favorable. It’s the one book the President (and
the Congress) should read.”
—George David, Chairman, United Technologies Corporation
“A timely, informative and important book. You may not agree with
all the analysis but the issues so clearly discussed are real,
current and vitally important. Financial industry reform must be
undertaken soon; inaction, as the authors convincingly argue, would
have dangerous consequences. This book explains it all and it’s
great reading.”
—Lawrence K. Fish, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Citizens Financial Group
“As 13 Bankers makes lucidly and compellingly clear, the problem
with Wall Street leads directly to the core problem of our
democracy. American politics now feeds on money, and Wall Street is
where the money is. Unless we separate money from politics, we’ll
never be safe from another financial meltdown. In fact, we’ll never
really be safe. Read this fine book and get to work.”
—Robert B. Reich, Professor of Public Policy, University of
California at Berkeley; Former U.S. Secretary of Labor; and author
of Aftershock
"An enticing vision of a Wall Street confined... a safer, saner
system that has learned from its mistakes."
-The Wall Street Journal
"A provocative prescription for avoiding a repeat of the panic of
2008 that brought the world to the brink of a second
Depression."
-San Francisco Chronicle
"Two of the sharpest critics of the financial establishment. . . .
This book puts America's banking system on trial."
-Financial Times
"[13 Bankers] holds an explosive idea: Wall Street has
hijacked our government. And without a total overhaul, taxpayers
will endlessly foot the bill for its sins."
-Fortune
"A well-documented appeal to embrace once again Thomas Jefferson's
skepticism of concentrated banking power."
-The New York Times
"The best explanation yet for how the smart guys on Wall Street led
us to the brink of collapse. In the process, Johnson and Kwak
demystify our financial system, stripping it down to expose the
ruthless power grab that lies at its center."
-Elizabeth Warren, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School; and Chair,
TARP Congressional Oversight Panel
"Too many discussions of the Great Recession present it as a purely
economic phenomenon. . . . Simon Johnson was the first to point out
that this was and is a crisis of political economy. His and James
Kwak's analysis of the unholy inter-twining of Washington and Wall
Street-a cross between the gilded age and a banana republic-is
essential reading."
-Niall Ferguson, Professor of History, Harvard University;
Professor, Harvard Business School; and author of The Ascent of
Money
"A disturbing and painstakingly researched account of how the banks
wrenched control of government and society out of our hands-and
what we can do to seize it back."
-Bill Moyers
"Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what comes
next for the world economy. Dangerous and reckless elements of our
financial sector have become too powerful and must be reined in. If
this problem is not addressed there is serious trouble in all our
futures."
-Nouriel Roubini, Professor of Economics, Leonard N. Stern School
of Business, New York University; and Chairman of Roubini Global
Economics
"Beautifully written and powerful. Ties the current financial
crisis to a cycle of politics as old as the Republic, and to a
pathology in our politics that is as profound as any that our
Republic has faced. Required reading for the President, and anyone
else who cares for this Republic."
-Lawrence Lessig, Director of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center
for Ethics, Harvard University
"Johnson and Kwak not only tell us in great detail how the crisis
happened and what we must do to avoid another crisis, but they see
the deeper political and cultural context that permitted
carelessness and excess nearly to break the financial system and
plunge us into a depression."
-Bill Bradley, former U.S. Senator
"A chilling tale of the dangers of concentrated economic,
intellectual, and political power. Even if you do not agree with
everything the authors have to say, this book makes it clear why
ending 'too big to fail' and reforming the institutions that
perpetuate it are essential for our nation's future economic
prosperity and, more fundamentally, our democratic system."
-U.S. Senator Jim Bunning
"This book is remarkable in its scope and conclusions. It places
changes in financial services and the sector's regulation over the
last twenty years in the context of the last two hundred, and the
comparison isn't favorable. It's the one book the President (and
the Congress) should read."
-George David, Chairman, United Technologies Corporation
"A timely, informative and important book. You may not agree with
all the analysis but the issues so clearly discussed are real,
current and vitally important. Financial industry reform must be
undertaken soon; inaction, as the authors convincingly argue, would
have dangerous consequences. This book explains it all and it's
great reading."
-Lawrence K. Fish, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Citizens Financial Group
"As 13 Bankers makes lucidly and compellingly clear, the
problem with Wall Street leads directly to the core problem of our
democracy. American politics now feeds on money, and Wall Street is
where the money is. Unless we separate money from politics, we'll
never be safe from another financial meltdown. In fact, we'll never
really be safe. Read this fine book and get to work."
-Robert B. Reich, Professor of Public Policy, University of
California at Berkeley; Former U.S. Secretary of Labor; and author
of Aftershock
Johnson (management, MIT) and Kwak (a former McKinsey consultant) offer their take on the financial crisis of 2007-08, exploring its historical background in the Founding Fathers' debate on banking and financial institutions. They also assert that the bailouts of America's largest banks have only made them bigger, more powerful, and more dangerous. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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