"Anatomy of a Meltdown"
John Cassidy's "Anatomy of a Meltdown" in the December 1, 2008 New Yorker is well worth your time to read. It's the best history I've seen of recent events minus the blame game. It's balanced, covers all the key events, and strikes a tone which I wish more reporting on the financial crisis used -- how hard this financial crisis is to deal with because it is so different from previous ones, including the Depression.
Cassidy writes from the perspective of Fed Chair Ben Bernanke with comments from respected economists who know him, who agree with him, and who disagree with him. You get a good sense of how difficult it was for Bernanke, who knows the financial history of the Depression better than anyone, to get his thinking around the enormity of this financial crisis. When he finally did in early September, it was breathtaking how quickly he changed course and poured all the resources available into staunching the crisis.
Right now, market and economic pundits are lambasting Bernanke for not acting more forcefully and effectively sooner, but I find that unfair. We may still look back on this deep recession as a lot better outcome than the depression that might have been if not for Bernanke's efforts.
