All the Devils Are Here

The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis

By: Bethany McLean, Joe Nocera

Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris

Length: 15 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

As soon as the financial crisis erupted, the finger-pointing began. Should the blame fall on Wall Street, Main Street, or Pennsylvania Avenue? On greedy traders, misguided regulators, sleazy subprime companies, cowardly legislators, or clueless home buyers?

According to Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera, two of America's most acclaimed business journalists, the real answer is all of the above-and more. Many devils helped bring hell to the economy. And the full story, in all of its complexity and detail, is like the legend of the blind men and the elephant. Almost everyone has missed the big picture. Almost no one has put all the pieces together.

All the Devils Are Here goes back several decades to weave the hidden history of the financial crisis in a way no previous book has done. It explores the motivations of everyone from famous CEOs, cabinet secretaries, and politicians to anonymous lenders, borrowers, analysts, and Wall Street traders. It delves into the powerful American mythology of homeownership. And it proves that the crisis ultimately wasn't about finance at all; it was about human nature.

©2010 Bethany McLean (P)2010 Penguin Audio

Incredible book

I have many books on the 2008 financial crisis and this book touches on a very comprehensive aspect especially the time of the GSE’s that many books overlook. Thank you for writing!

Excellent!

I would recommend everyone to read this book. It explores the iceberg that that caused the financial crisis. I was skeptical about the title but now I see that it couldn't be more fitting. It is very rich in quotes and anecdotes. Critic reviews are accurate, I just have to add that it is a very heavy reading. It was hard to it listen while working, if you get distracted a few seconds you completely loose track of what they are saying; otherwise I enjoyed it a lot.

This is what happened

Do you want to know how the crash happened: Who was greedy, who was greedier? This is how it unfolded. One selfish step at a time.

thoroughly researched and excellently read

I listened to every minute of this audio download, despite its length and my lack of training in finance and economics. The detail went over my head but the story is mesmerizing and very competently read by the narrator. The story is best when it gets into stories, as with the characters involved in AIG and Merrill Lynch. Why not 5 stars? I guess because of the overwhelming amount of detail, but that didn't stop me from listening!

Insightful and engaging

Insightful and informative while being engaging enough to want to keep listening. The cast of characters may be vast but you can still follow the threads in the net.

Lifeless compared to books like Liar's poker

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

Not enthusiastically, but nor would I dissuade.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Please refer to the book's title.

What three words best describe Dennis Boutsikaris’s voice?

Annoyingly annoying annoyance.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

If you weren't angry at the federal government when the lights go down, you will be when when they come back on.

The most definitive guide to the GFC

Bethany and Joe have done an excellent job cutting through the noise and simplistic explanations on the causes of the 2008 GFC. This book is highly educative, informative and intriguing with all the twists and characters of an engaging thriller. This should be one of your must read books on the GFC.

Strange mid-paragraph edits

While the story is very interesting, the editing and excessive mid-paragraph / mid-sentence cuts and edits of audio that don’t match proved too distracting to deal with. Unfortunate.

Learned a Great Deal

learn a great deal about the government and wall street banks unofficial partnership and relationships

Extremely factual

Totally fact based, I enjoyed the linear tour leading up to and including the demise- very well written