Thursday, June 23, 2011

Summer reading assignment: "Reckless Endangerment" ... by gimleteye

On a transatlantic flight I read the new nonfiction book on the origins of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression: "Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon" by Gretchen Morgenson of the NY Times. It is a story that really needs to be ventilated and lays down the tracks of how we got here, from there. This has been a favorite topic of Eyeonmiami: tracing the crash from the hubris and political energy fomented in Miami. Along this line, I will review the Morgenson book soon enough. Quick note: a friend at a recent national meeting of investment bankers reports, that when Morgenson's name was mentioned by the keynote speaker, she was loudly boo'ed. That's reason enough to buy the book.

PS. I had a positive experience getting out of Miami International Airport FINALLY. The customs process was quick. The baggage arrived quickly in the new international concourse. I even forgive the airline for damaging one of my bags. After twenty years, imagine: something positive to say about MIA! Most tellingly, my flight was not on American.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Agree. The book was a good read.

Anonymous said...

Why did you take down the pictures of the Mo's event???

Geniusofdespair said...

It was for tomorrow, I put it up by mistake.

Anonymous said...

Jim Johnson who lead Fannie Mae and his malfeasance is featured and highlighted prominently in the book. If any one figure used his influence to corrupt the system it was Jim. BTW, Jim is big figure in Democratic Party politics including a money bundler for Barack Obama (in addition to the large amount of campaign money Obama received from BP) and he was also originally tapped to pick OB's Vice President.