MONEY, MURDER, AND MADNESS, A BANKING LIFE, HOW YOUR GOVERNMENT CAUSED THE FINANCIAL CRISIS, is not just another book about the crisis. Forrest Cook avoids impenetrable financial jargon and takes the reader on a refreshingly different look on why the crisis happened and who were the government officials responsible. It is an interesting book to read especially in this election year.
He explains why the conventional reporting is misleading or wrong. Cook makes a convincing case that the Clinton and Bush administrations and members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, pursued an extreme affordable housing agenda that led to the failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Readers will be shocked to learn how Fannie and Freddie officials rewarded themselves with huge salaries and bonuses through fraudulent bookkeeping and dishonest financial reporting. If Fannie and Freddie had not failed requiring a massive government intervention and the largest bailout in our history, it’s likely the crisis would have been avoided.
Six years after the government takeover of Fannie and Freddie the taxpayers continue to own and heavily subsidize one of the largest companies in the world. Cook also explains how the bailout is hundreds of billions of dollars more than reported in the financial press.
He also writes about his personal journey in banking, and its not what the reader expects. He tells charming stories about the human side of the business and unlikely events including death threats, demonstrations, a violent bank robbery, and the murder of a Boston police officer.
