Cindy Stack

Very Confusing Presentation

Revisado: 04-02-10

I would describe myself as a capitalist. However, the author's definition of capitalism is not a textbook defintion. In the book, capitalism is described as a economic system whereby capital holders exploit workers. Just the use of "exploit" in a definiton was enough for me to realize the author is committed to being controversial. However, there is zero acknowledgment (that I could remember) of the author's philosophical assumptions.

So, I give the book credit for some good historical research (say 3-4 stars). But I would give the book low marks because the presentation/organization is difficult to understand (2 stars), and the presuppositions of the author range from subtle to unsupportable (1 star).

I'm glad I listened. Because of the author's research, I was challenged to reanalyze why I believe what I do. And, he advanced some of his non-capitalistic positions with excellent historical examples. However, for someone who was unfamiliar with economics and politics, I don't think this book would deliver enough objectivity to make it a reliable treatment.

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esto le resultó útil a 6 personas

Fast-moving Overview

Revisado: 11-15-09

If you are looking for a fast-moving overview of what brought about the near collapse of the financial industry in the fall of 2008, this audiobook will satisfy you.

Morris ties together government, big business, and the credit markets with hundreds of names of companies and individuals. He describes the new and highly leveraged financial instruments that were used (and found to be wanting).

Don't expect to pick-up everything in the first listen. Morris does a masterful job connecting dots, but there are a lot of dots. I've not come across a treatment like this that attempts to identify so many dots, much less connect them.

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You will be surprised by the lack of examples

Revisado: 09-07-09

The topic was (and still is) interesting to me. One of the reviewers in the book's promotional statement said that the book is "[A] sweeping intellectual history ... " There was only one Amazon reviewer, but that individual gave the book a 5-star review. So, based on those two endorsements, I bought it.

After listening to 5 of the 9 hours, I have been surprised that there were relatively few historical examples. Lots of "everybody back then" kind of statements, but very little content.

I would give the book four stars because of the value of the topic. But, I would give it one star (or zero stars) for the persuasiveness of the research. There simply has not been enough historical evidence provided in the first 5 hours to warrant someone calling it "sweeping intellectual history". Maybe there is more in the last 4 hours.

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esto le resultó útil a 15 personas