Customer Reviews

Daisy Chain

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3 star:		(1)
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James Shea adopts a twangy vernacular to skewer the inflation and deflation of Don Dixon's Texas savings and loan. Dixon took advantage of deregulation and profited handsomely. Whether it was intentional fraud or opportunism is up to the reader to decide, but the book is written like a summer detective novel. It's better than so much of the hack work out there, and it's true! I recommend this in addition to "Funny Money" by Mark Singer.

A must read for anyone in the Banking industry. Well written and easy to follow the "chain" of events. Although the specifics of the problems back in the early 80's were different, the meltdown we experienced in 2008/2009 was based on the same basic weakness...greed.

This book is about the savings and loan debacle that occurred after President Reagan deregulated the industry in the 1980's. It is an enthralling retelling of the chain of events that eventually lead to the collapse of the entire industry. It illustrates the greed of corporate executives and the creative accounting tactics they used to make immense wealth while leaving the rest of their customers to pay the price. It's a great book that doesn't require an MBA to understand. I had never heard of S&L's before reading this book, and it shocked me that such a thing ever happened. It also shows how fragile the banking system in this country can be if powerful people get greedy. This book is a great read for anyone interested in banking or economics.

This book should be required reading for any college student studying finance, banking or real estate. It provides an accurate look at the shenanigans that lead to the collapse of the S&L industry and real estate market in the late 80's. Although the story is interesting , it's value is in the history it reports.