R. Shafer

Intriguing Ideas, Overwhelming Support

Revisado: 01-17-21

This book both inspired and comforted me. On the one hand it inspired me to keep on following my passions and to let my creativity flow without regard for my age or limitations. On the other it comforted me in my unorthodox path. I am energized to share and discuss it with my friends and revisit various anecdotes.
The only caveat to this recommendation is that I often felt like points were belabored and anecdotes were protracted. There were several times when I got impatient with the book.

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Freefall – Not the place to start

Revisado: 03-19-10

Stiglitz' treatment of the causes of the economic crisis seemed a bit superficial. His argument was unconvincing because he didn't strongly support many of his claims. He points to the crisis as a failure of the free market and of capitalism, while admitting that this situation did not operate as a free market, nor did we have a true capitalist system in place.

The most interesting - and perhaps most important - chapter of the book is not specifically about the economic crisis. In Chapter 9, Stiglitz raises several interesting questions that challenge the traditional assumptions of economists. I recommend beginning by reading/listening to Chapter Nine to get a sense of Stiglitz' theoretical underpinnings, and then read the rest of Freefall with that in mind.

I read T. Sowell's Housing Boom and Bust concurrent with this book, and found Sowell's facts and arguments more satisfying. Stiglitz' book seems to leave out a lot of details. For a more clear explanation that deals with the facts in an easier to understand, more down-to-earth way, I'd recommend Sowell's book as the place to start. FreeFall makes a good second book because it deals with different aspects of the crisis and comes from a different point of view.

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