Daniel Gross of Newsweek wrote a book “Dumb Money” in 2009 just after the financial collapse that didn’t get much attention — perhaps it was largely descriptive of the structure and facts of the situation rather than assigning blame. From a personal perspective, I was fortunate enough to receive a very quick education on the terminology and to sufficiently involved to have a fairly good idea of the moving pieces. Most people, even those fascinated by the topic, still have a very vague concept of what happened and why.
“Dumb Money” is not sensationalist nor particularly deep in its analysis. However, it’s short, definitional, and will leave you with a far better grip of the terminology and parties involved. If you find that period even half as intriguing as I do, you will also find this a book you lend to people, again as I do.
Abycats' Thoughts 