Fairy Tale Capitalism

Emily Eisenlohr
AuthorHouse (2011)
ISBN 9781452034072
Reviewed by William Phenn for Reader Views (5/11)

The average person does not think about government finances and the state of the financial climate in the world. Not saying that we don’t care, just that we have other things on our minds like making the house payment.

With that in mind, “Fairy Tale Capitalism” is the book that explains it all and then some. Beginning with the explanation of financial risk and how it is distributed around into different sections. In the mortgage money markets there is “Fannie Mae” (Federal National Mortgage Association), which was the first and is the oldest of the three government-established organizations. Then there is “Ginnie Mae” (Government National Mortgage Association), the second government entity established in 1968 and last but not least “Freddie Mac” (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation). Freddie was chartered in 1970 by Congress to stabilize the nation’s residential mortgage markets. It was supposed to make more home loans available and affordable for homebuyers and renters.

Emily continues with the “Systemic Web,” the evolution of “Risk Management” and “Bank Holding Companies”.

Her many chapters on the influence money had on politics and law are concise and well researched. There are facts presented about the over-the-counter derivatives and the Systemic Bubble. She presents a very thoughtful and creative analysis on the financial crisis we face as a nation.

I enjoyed “Fairy Tale Capitalism” and from a novice point-of-view, it was a little hard to understand and I know the author tried to simplify it as best she could; but it was still a bit difficult to comprehend.

Some of the terms may have been normal industry verbiage but not being in that industry (financial) made it a slow read.

I gave “Fairy Tale Capitalism” an A on my scale and consider it to be a very informative and well-written volume. The editing and writing was exceptional as were the graphs and charts that accompanied the chapters.

I would recommend “Fairy Tale Capitalism” to adults of all ages and even high school seniors who have an interest in this area.

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