Meltdown

A Look at Why the Economy Tanked and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse

By: Thomas E. Woods Jr.

Narrated by: Alan Sklar

Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

The media tells us that "deregulation" and "unfettered free markets" have wrecked our economy and will continue to make things worse without a heavy dose of federal regulation. But the real blame lies elsewhere.

In Meltdown, best-selling author Thomas E. Woods, Jr., unearths the real causes behind the collapse of housing values and the stock market---and it turns out the culprits reside more in Washington than on Wall Street. And the trillions of dollars in federal bailouts? Our politicians' ham-handed attempts to fix the problems they themselves created will only make things much worse.

Woods, a senior fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute and winner of the 2006 Templeton Enterprise Award, busts the media myths and government spin. He explains how government intervention in the economy---from the Democratic hobby horse called Fannie Mae to affirmative action programs like the Community Redevelopment Act---actually caused the housing bubble. Most important, Woods, author of the New York Times best seller The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History, traces this most recent boom-and-bust---and all such booms and busts of the past century---back to one of the most revered government institutions of all: the Federal Reserve System, which allows busybody bureaucrats and ambitious politicians to pull the strings of our financial sector and manipulate the value of the very money we use.

Meltdown, which features a foreword by Congressman Ron Paul (R - Texas), also provides a timely history lesson to counter the current clamor for a new New Deal. The Great Depression, Woods demonstrates, was only as deep and as long as it was because of the government interventions by Herbert Hoover (no free-market capitalist, despite what your high-school history teacher may have taught you) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (no savior of the American economy, in spite of what the mainstream media says). If you want to understand what caused the fi...

©2009 Thomas E. Woods, Jr. (P)2009 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Provocative, well-written, and deserves to be read." ( Catholic Historical Review)
"Well written, well researched, and the thesis put forth is well argued." ( Journal of American History)

Interesting but controvercial!

Liked the content of the book and the argument is based on true market economy. However, I do not agree that the market economy will adjust all the economic activities and problems itself as it will reach its equilbrium. If the market economy adjusted and adapted to the repercussions, troughs and peaks of the economy itself then we would live in dismal chaos. Nothing can adapt, adjust or autamatically change smth without interference. And worse thing is that, the author argues that the President before FDR did everything correct as he pursued the true market economy while FDR screwed everything up and his actions taken during Great Depression worsened the situation further and prolonged the pain of economic depression. Very weird argument, but have to srutinize if he is right. Recommended!

This book is still very relivent today

Wow I cant believe most of what hes saying but theres evidence in todays current events that validate the misconceptions of the free market.

Everyone should read this

Fascinating look at the housing boom and bust, but then more background information about business cycles and busting incorrect economic platitudes that politicians like to repeat, where money comes from and why the government shouldn't control it. Highly recommend.

Tom is great which is no surprise

A fantastic dive into what happened in the '08 Global Financial Crisis unlike anything you get from the mainstream or partisan talking points. In fact it tackles and answers questions that are often left out of conversation because most people simply lack the necessary knowledge and perspective to answer them. That perspective is the Austrian school of economics, the school that historically warns of the biggest crashes and is thanklessly forgotten when those warnings are proven correct. Tom explains what happened, why, and should be done in terms easy to understand for anyone. This book is still every bit as relevant, probably even more, today as it was when it was written.

Opinion Piece with Sprinkled Facts

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Parts of this book were very interesting and it was clearly written by an author who is trying to make it understandable for the masses, but the often blatant rants on current policy make this book not only unbearably boring but almost completely uninformative. The author rehashes the same tired arguments over and over without any new facts or statistics, making his claims difficult to accept. While some of his assertions can be accepted based off pure logic, analogies are not a substitute for facts. More detailed examples with specific facts and figures and less general overlooks of important events.

Would you ever listen to anything by Thomas E. Woods again?

Probably not. There are plenty of other books that cover similar subjects in a much better manner.

What does Alan Sklar bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator's voice is somewhat overdramatic. It is appropriate for the content of the story, but can sometimes be distracting with how much it plays up even the most mundane of subjects. The narrator is not a bad reader, but his style just isn't to my taste.

Was Meltdown worth the listening time?

Not really. There are plenty of other books in my library from which I would have learned more.

Any additional comments?

None.

...A Must Read!

This is a wake up call Americans! Our gov't is either inept or criminal,.. or both. Tom Woods lays it all out so anyone can understand. I listened to the whole thing without stopping. It will captivate and anger you.

Listen and then call or e-mail your elected officials!

Read this book!

Forget about 'derivatives' and the other esoteric culprits for the economic collapse of 2008-2009. The real reason is much simpler than that and Woods skillfully explains why. Woods is an historian who delivers a compelling narrative that hearing, you just know he would have been one of your favorite teachers if you had been in his class.
I was so impressed by it that I have bought and given out many copies of this book. Read it. Highest reviews.

The Nuts & Bolts of the Subprime Disaster

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Only to people who are interested in the how we got into the stupid, foolish and
preventable Sub Prime crisis.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Meltdown?

There are many. Barney Frank's statement that the Sub Prime crisis was entirely
the fault of Wall Street is one of the funniest stories. But there are many examples of Federal buffoonery in the book.

Would you be willing to try another one of Alan Sklar’s performances?

NO!!
Terrible reader. He sounds like he was going on moralist crusade.
It was hard to listen to the book with all his righteous indignation.

The book should be rerecorded with a decent reader.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Many moments.

Any additional comments?

This is a great one. If you love economics, get it.

Brilliant

One of the most interesting and informative books I’ve read. Listen to this, buy it for your friends and family, the information is to valuable to not spread around.

Must Read!

This an excellent book and I applaud Tom Woods for sticking to his nature of exposing the idiocy of today’s economic system!