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Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy Audiobook
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(3.02) - 1,133 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The current global financial crisis carries a "made in America" label. In this forthright and incisive book, Nobel Laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz explains how America exported bad economics, bad policies, and bad behavior to the rest of the world, only to cobble together a haphazard and ineffective response when the markets finally seized up. Drawing on his academic expertise, his years spent shaping policy in the Clinton administration and at the World Bank, and his more recent role as head of a UN commission charged with reforming the global financial system, Stiglitz outlines a way forward, building on ideas that he has championed his entire career: restoring the balance between markets and government, addressing the inequalities of the global financial system, and demanding more good ideas (and less ideology) from economists.
Freefall is an instant classic, combining an enthralling whodunit account of the current crisis with a bracing discussion of the broader economic issues at stake.
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"Highly readable "mainstream" account/analysis of the crisis. Even within the mainstream, Stiglitz probably regards himself as a contrarian but he is unable to look at the crisis through any lens other than that provided by modern macro theory, and that's a mild disappointment. "
— Deep (4 out of 5 stars)
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“A useful and timely book…. It is a powerful indictment of Wall Street, the United States financial sector and the Federal Reserve Board.”
— New York Times -
“Dick Hill gives just the everyman kind of reading to make…Stiglitz’s analysis of financial collapse plainly comprehensible and a ripping good—if enraging—yarn.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred audio review) -
A useful and timely book.... It is a powerful indictment of Wall Street, the United States financial sector and the Federal Reserve Board.
— The New York Times
Awards
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New York Times bestseller
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
Freefall Listener Reviews
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" Excellent analysis of causes of and remedies to the recent crisis. I always considered myself a fan of monetarism and Greenspan but Stiglitz's analysis is surgical and crushing. And well-structured, you will enjoy it even if you don't have a degree in economics. A must-read. "
— Moominboy, 2/11/2014 -
" Easily one of the most detailed explorations of the global financial crisis by a Keynesian economist. Stiglitz gives a blow-by blow account of the regime of deregulation, distorted incentives in the financial markets and shortsighted bail-outs that created and augmented the global crisis. What can be said in his favour is that he does not always seems to be preaching on hindsight. "
— Saugata, 2/11/2014 -
" lets find more about stiglitz's mind "
— Ridwan, 1/27/2014 -
" a bit biased but extremely informative.Very much worth the effort. "
— Vance, 1/26/2014 -
" A must read for those seeking to understand the Great Recession, its causes and its cures, as well as for those concerned with developing an ethical less-selfish economic system. "
— Ralph, 1/15/2014 -
" Brilliant analysis of the 2008 sub-prime crisis by a Nobel Prize winning economist. Stiglitz goes into a great deal of depth but still manages to be readable. A basic understanding of economic principles is helpful but not strictly necessary. "
— Paul, 1/12/2014 -
" Great. Wonderful. Stiglitz has made a Keynesian out of me. "
— Justin, 12/22/2013 -
" OUTSTANDING. Mankind needs more of such thinkers to bring us back to basics: the "shared values" upon which all successful civil socities are built upon. "
— Kamil, 11/3/2013 -
" I have mixed feelings about this book. Stiglitz has some of the best economic critiques of the banking collapse I have ever read. However, the book is poorly written and edited. It feels very rushed and does not always make its point clearly. "
— CollinB, 8/15/2013 -
" Decent. Would've liked more solutions. "
— Jeff, 2/28/2013 -
" Incisive and illuminating; forceful and cogent; written with sustained perspicacity - as always, Joe Stiglitz's distinct traits.. "
— Kaleb, 10/22/2012 -
" Not as much detail as Faultlines, Too Big to Fail or Confidence Men, but covers the same territory. The back end of the book goes into and interesting essay on our moral failing as a deeper cause for 2007-08 crash. "
— Uday, 7/25/2012 -
" A very comprehensive and detailed look at our economy and how we got to where we are. Some realistic solutions were included throughout the book. If you want to have meaningful discussions about the economy read this book! "
— Michael, 4/1/2012 -
" Just reading now. Will get back to you. Love Joseph E. Stiglitz intellect! "
— Chet, 11/17/2011 -
" interesting view, but I think his distaste for big business taints his reality and weakens his arguments. he doesn't seem to have any view into the middle ground. "
— Lori, 4/26/2011 -
" Very lucid and insightful explanation of the recent financial crisis, and what is to be done to recover from it. "
— Kaworu, 4/20/2011 -
" It's hard for me to give an unbiased review, as I am naturally inclined to agree with a lot of his positions regarding the intellectual incoherence and duplicity of the finance industry and its free-market fetishist backers in government. Deeply depressing! "
— Benjamin, 3/24/2011 -
" a bit biased but extremely informative.Very much worth the effort. "
— Vance, 2/4/2011 -
" A bit pedantic and overblown. Stiglitz spends most of the book telling us what went wrong, and whose fault it is, yet has little to offer in the way of solutions. I skimmed the last 1/3rd. "
— Adrienne, 1/23/2011 -
" The best play-by-play explaining the Great Recession of 2008. "
— Bruce, 12/29/2010
About Joseph E. Stiglitz
Joseph E. Stiglitz is a Nobel Prize–winning economist and the bestselling author of The Price of Inequality, Freefall, and Globalization and Its Discontents. He is a columnist for the New York Times and Project Syndicate and has written for Vanity Fair, Politico, the Atlantic, and Harper’s. He teaches at Columbia University and lives in New York City.
About Dick Hill
Laural Merlington is an audiobook narrator with over two hundred titles to her credit and a winner of multiple Earphones Awards. An Audie Award nominee, she has also directed over one hundred audiobooks. She has performed and directed for thirty years in theaters throughout the country. In addition to her extensive theater and voice-over work, she teaches college in her home state of Michigan.