I reviewed Michael W. Hudson’s The Monster at Newshoggers and here at The Moderate Voice.

Do you like a good crime novel – a corporate crime novel? If so The Monster: How a gang of predatory lenders and Wall Street bankers fleeced America – and spawned a global crisis by Michael W. Hudson is for you. Unfortunately it’s not a fictional novel but the history of the mortgage crisis that may yet bring down the US and world economy.

Truthout has an excerpt from The Monster on line with a great comment thread that’s worth a read.  I can’t repeat too often how important this book is.  We hear about the mess with mortgage backed securities and collateral debt obligations but rarely hear that most of the loans that make up that paper were fraudulent from the beginning.  Hudson did some great investigative reporting and this book is a must read for anyone who really wants to understand the financial meltdown.