The role of academics, bankers, politicians, regulators

The main idea of this book is that the root cause of the financial crisis is the ambition to handle risk as a well-defined commodity that can be traded in the market. The book provides an interpretation of the crisis going beyond simple reconstructions. Finance cannot be rescued by simply referring to ethics or limiting the remuneration of managers. This book is unique in that it covers both the American and the European crisis.

"The book provides a sharp analysis of what went wrong with Finance and led to the great crisis, and shows the ways through which Finance can get its credibility back. Regulation and high ethical standards are not enough!”, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, Chairman of Société Générale and Italgas spa, former member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank.

“In his provocative and insightful new book Barucci appeals to readers with a social conscience, re-interpreting the facts and raising important new questions about the value of finance that were surfaced by the last financial crisis”, Darrel Duffie, Dean Witter Distinguished Professor of Finance, Stanford University.