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The financial crisis part 1

Customer Rating:
This is a must read for the financially trying times we currently live thru.Even though the book is a couple of years old it is still current. Reccommended to me by a financial analyst during a flight layover afer telling a few war stories, "origins" sums up exactly what the title says.
As someone who once consulted for Enron and have lived thru numerous corporate financial audits,this book is a must read for someone who is trying to understand the complex financial system we have created for ourselves, a far cry from the good old days when companies actually produced something tangible that was worth something and simply paid a dividend.
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A "Bitter" Book

Customer Rating:
I had an extremely favorable impression of Lowenstein's books, having gone through the classic "When Genius Failed" as well as "Buffett". After having read this, though, I fear to say that I'm pretty disappointed.
As some other reviewers have pointed out, the book is pretty detailed, with the exception of a few bloopers. However, I couldn't fail to notice a sense of personal vendetta emanating from each page. Someone seems to have lost a bundle during the Dot Com bust.
Among other shortcomings, Clayton Christensen was dismissed as yet another New Economy Guru, and the entire narrative seemed to pivot on CEOs being the epitome of evil. I'm not quite sure I agree with this characterization; it's unnecessarily biased. Also, there was very less attention paid to the fact that, for a particular generation of America, the 90s Bull Run was their own weird corporate version of the Swinging 60s and Free Love. I recognize the fact that, in a book describing the Origins of the Crash, this can be ignored as a first approximation. In my view, though, those social "mob" effects had a vital role to play, especially when they were swinging to the beats of Meeker, Blodget and the Motley Fool brothers.
Overall, I much prefer Maggie Mahar's book Bull: A History of the Boom and Bust, 1982-2004 over this book. Sorry RL!

Now I Know Why I Lost All That Money!

Customer Rating:
During the 2000-2002 time period, I lost a large portion of my retirement in the stock market. Painful as it may be, I now know why I lost all that money after reading the book.

Origins doesn't live up to "When Genius Failed"

Customer Rating:
Loved when Genius Failed -- this felt like a grasp at that genius, but a disappointing one. Some is just factually wrong (i.e. portfolios are too risky -- need to factor in bonds and risk-deferral products) and some is just uninteresting. A "fine" overview of the stock market run-up to 2001, but there are better treatments of the subject

Another Great Book!

Customer Rating:
Great read! I have been a financial advisor for over 15 years and love the markets and their history. Lowenstein has written two fabulous books about market changing events over the past decade, and "Origins" could be the best. For me, it was like reliving the boom (and bust) all over again; at times painful, very insightful, but not too techinical. Also, the section devoted to Enron was spectacular.