PLUNDER: Investigating Our Economic Calamity and the Subprime Scandal [Hardcover]

Danny Schechter (Author), Robert Manning (Preface)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2008 | ISBN-10: 1605203513 | ISBN-13: 978-1605203515

DANNY SCHECHTER, "The News Dissector" has spent decades as a truth teller in the media, with leading media companies and as an independent filmmaker with the award-winning independent company Globalvision. A graduate of Cornell and the London School of Economics, Schechter was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard and a multiple Emmy Award winner at ABC News, where he was among the first to cover the S&L crisis. In 2007, his film IN DEBT WE TRUST was the first to expose Wall Street's connection to subprime loans, predicting the economic crisis that this book investigates. Schechter is a blogger, editor of Mediachannel.org, and author of nine books. He has reported from 53 countries, and lives in Gotham. He owns no derivatives or tranches.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

From the Inside Flap

Other Comments about Danny Schechter:

"In the era of the incredibly shrinking sound bite, Producer Danny Schechter stands apart." - The Associated Press

"As News Dissector on Boston Radio, Danny Schechter literally educated a generation." - Noam Chomsky

"We need 50, 100, 1000 Danny Schechters. And we need everyone to take his words to heart." - Robert W. McChesney, Media Historian

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Cosimo Books (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605203513
• ISBN-13: 978-1605203515
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,068,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on the current economic meltdown, October 8, 2008

By 

Deborah Emin "writer/editor" (New York City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Plunder: Investigating Our Economic Calamity and the Subprime Scandal (Paperback)

Danny Schechter has compiled a brilliant book based on his documentary work, In Debt We Trust, as well as his news dissector blog. Within the covers of the new book, Plunder, you will find three sections that will help you to a) understand what happened, b) what the unfolding timeline of the events were and c) why the powers that be kept news like this from us all. Speaking truth to power, Schechter has had a difficult time letting the world know just what was as plain as could be, if you really took the time to look for the sources that could be trusted. I highly encourage anyone who wants to help avert further disasters, man-made ones, to read this book in order to learn how to do it. Danny Schechter is a great teacher as well as a great news hound.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Making sense of a poorly covered topic, May 8, 2009

By 

Paul Acevedo (Unemployment, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Plunder: Investigating Our Economic Calamity and the Subprime Scandal (Paperback)

If you turn to CNBC, CNN or most of the major media outlets for clarity on the complex issue of our economic meltdown, you can expect anything but clarity. Danny Schechter, true to form, exposes all the cooks who had a hand in poisoning the soup we call our economy. There is plenty of blame to go around, only you wouldn't know it from the major media. The news dissector is unafraid to go beyond the usual attack on irresponsible borrowers and discuss the lucrative world of debt and its players. Get this book. I wish we had a media with many Danny Schechters. It makes it very hard to scheme when you're being watched.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Plunder, September 10, 2009

By 

W. Barker ""http://wendisbookcorner.blogs... (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Plunder: Investigating Our Economic Calamity and the Subprime Scandal (Paperback)

Perfect for : Personal Use, Someone interested in learning about the impacts to the current economy

In a nutshell: I believe that many things have led to our current economic crisis, and I also believe that we will recover. Plunder's author, Danny Schechter, provides investigative insight into some of the events that brought our economy to this point, mainly greed and dishonesty among those involved in the mortgage industry and the credit industry (seems they were able to talk many consumers into using credit cards and buying homes when they should not have been qualified for them). The author does go on to show that what has happened here in the United States is bound to turn into a Global problem in the near future. In all, this was a very informative read that gave me a lot to think about and reflect on.

Extended Review:

Content: While I am not an expert in economics or anything related to it, I can't claim that this is THE book to shed light on what exactly happened, but I can say that Danny Schechter has done his research and put together a lot of information regarding many contributing factors to today's economic issues, especially the mortgage crisis! I also gained insight into why our family was "qualified" for much more than we felt we could comfortably afford when we were looking for a home to buy (over the past 10 years, my husband and I purchased a first home, which we sold in order to buy our current home. In both cases, lenders tried to talk us into doubling what we wanted to pay, telling us we should buy bigger because we were "qualified" . . . boy am I glad we didn't listen to them!).

Format: The book is written in an interesting format that supports the author's claims with documentation. Mixed in with the author's own words and explanations are many quotes and passages from other sources (online and print) pertaining to the subject matter.

Readability: This was a fairly easy read, given the subject matter. There are a lot of financial terms used, but the author did a good job of explaining them.

Overall: A very interesting look into how and why we have reached this point in our credit crisis, which is magnified by the fact that this will most likely become a Global crisis as other countries have taken similar actions with regards to the use of credit.