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Financial Shock: A 360º Look at the Subprime Mortgage Implosion, and How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis
"In Financial Shock, Mr. Zandi provides a concise and lucid account of the economic, political and regulatory forces behind this binge." --The Wall Street Journal "Aggressive builders, greedy lenders, optimistic home buyers: Zandi succinctly dissects the mortgage mess from start to (one hopes) finish." --U.S. News and World Report "If you wonder how it could be possible for a subprime mortgage loan to bring the global financial system and the U.S. economy to its knees, you should read this book. No one is better qualified to provide this insight and advice than Mark Zandi." -- Larry Kudlow, Host, CNBC's Kudlow & Company "Every once in a while a book comes along that's so important, it commands recognition. This is one of them. Zandi provides a rilliant blow-by-blow account of how greed, stupidity, and recklessness brought the first major economic crises of the 21st entury and the most serious since the Great Depression." --Bernard Baumohl,Managing Director, The Economic Outlook Group and best-selling author, The Secrets of Economic Indicators "Throughout the financial crisis Mark Zandi has played two important roles.He has insightfully analyzed its causes and thoughtfully recommended steps to alleviate it. This book continues those tasks and adds a third--providing a comprehensive and comprehensible explanation of the issues that is accessible to the general public and extremely useful to those who specialize in the area." --Barney Frank, Chairman, House Financial Services Committee The subprime crisis created a gigantic financial catastrophe. What happened? How did it happen? How can we prevent similar crises from happening again? Mark Zandi answers all these critical questions--systematically, carefully, and in plain English. Zandi begins with a fast-paced overview and then illuminates the deepest causes, from the psychology of homeownership to Alan Greenspan's missteps. You'll see the home "flippers" at work and the real estate agents who cheered them on. You'll learn how Internet technology and access to global capital transformed the mortgage industry, helping irresponsible lenders drive out good ones.Zandi demystifies the complex financial engineering that enabled lenders to hide deepening risks, shows how global investors eagerly bought in, and explains how flummoxed regulators failed to prevent disaster, despite crucial warning signs. Most important, Zandi offers indispensable advice for investors who must recognize emerging bubbles, policymakers who must improve oversight, and citizens who must survive whatever comes next. *Liar's loans, flippers, predatory lenders, delusional homebuilders How the housing market came unhinged, and the whirlwind came together*Alan Greenspan's trillion-dollar bet Betting on the boom, ignoring the bubble*The subprime market goes global Worldwide investors get a piece of the action--and reap the results*Wall Street's alchemists: conjuring up Frankenstein New financial instruments and their hidden contents*Back to the future: risk management for the 21st century Respecting the "animal spirits" that drive even the most sophisticated markets.
Price: $15.14
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A Tale of Two Subs: An Untold Story of World War II, Two Sister Ships, and Extraordinary Heroism
On November 19, 1943, the submarine USS Sculpin, under attack by the Japanese, slid below the waves for the last time in what would become one of the most remarkable stories in U.S. Naval history Not only did several crewmembers survive the sinking - an extremely rare event in World War II submarine warfare - but several were aboard a Japanese aircraft carrier enroute to a POW camp when it was in turn torpedoed and sunk by the Sculpin's sister ship, the USS Sailfish. At the end of World War II, several unlikely survivors would tell a tale of endurance against these amazing reversals of fortune. For one officer in particular, who knew that being captured could have meant losing the war for the allies, his struggle was not in surviving, but in sealing his own fate in a heartbreaking act of heroism which culminated in the nation's highest tribute, the Medal of Honor. Sculpin Lt. Commander John Phillip Cromwell was one of the few who knew that American Naval Intelligence had succeeded in cracking Japan's top-secret codes. Cromwell also knew that if the Japanese confirmed this by torturing him, it would force Naval Intelligence to change their encryption, which would potentially change the course of the war. This is Cromwell's story as well. The incredible interconnection of the Sculpin and the Sailfish has been thoroughly researched by Jonathan McCullough. Through access to the few living survivors, scores of oral histories, never-before translated Japanese war documents, and interviews with Navy veterans, McCullough delivers a gripping and, intimate account for the reader..
Price: $13.49
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Deep Descent: Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria
On a foggy July evening in 1956, the Italian cruise liner Andrea Doria, bound for New York, was struck broadside by another vessel. In eleven hours, she would sink nearly 250 feet to the murky Atlantic Ocean floor. Thanks to a daring rescue operation, only 51 of more than 1,700 people died in the tragedy But the Andrea Doria is still taking lives.
Considered the Mt. Everest of diving, the Andrea Doria is the ultimate deepwater wreck challenge. Over the years, a small but fanatical group of extreme scuba divers have investigated the Andrea Doria, pushing themselves to the very limits of human endurance to explore her -- and not all have returned. Diver Kevin McMurray takes you inside this elite club with a hard, honest look at those who go deeper, farther, and closer to the edge than others would ever dream.
Deep Descent is the riveting true story of the human spirit overcoming human frailty and of fearsome, mortal risks traded for a hard-core adrenaline rush. Chronicling these adventures in his page-turning narrative and in dozens of dramatic photos, McMurray draws us deeper into the cold heart of the unforgiving sea, giving us a powerful vision of a place to which few will ever have the skills -- or the courage -- to go..
Price: $4.78
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Silent Steel: The Mysterious Death of the Nuclear Attack Sub USS Scorpion
Praise for Silent Steel "The magnitude of the tragedy of the USS Scorpion is matched only by the depth of the mystery surrounding her loss. Stephen Johnson has done a remarkable job of shining new light on this dark moment in U.S. submarine history." --Sherry Sontag, coauthor of Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage "What happened to the USS Scorpion? The question has vexed submariners for almost four decades. Now, with meticulous research and incredible attention to detail, Stephen Johnson examines and dissects one of the most tragic and mysterious submarine accidents in U.S. Navy history." --Douglas Waller, author of Big Red: Inside the Secret World of a Trident Nuclear Submarine "Stephen Johnson has crafted a forensic masterpiece that leads the reader back through time to unravel the gnawing enigma of the tragic 1968 loss of the nuclear attack submarine USS Scorpion. Sifting through a maze of conflicting theories, he meticulously lays out a tale of undersea detectives searching for conclusive evidence to one of the most baffling mysteries of the cruel sea." --Rear Admiral Thomas Evans, author, analyst specializing in submarine history and operations, and former officer on the Scorpion "The manuscript arrived with yesterday's afternoon mail. I finished reading it by nightfall. It's that good! Thoroughly researched, impeccably documented, with an appealing and literate style, Silent Steel should become essential reading for submarine enthusiasts and for anyone else who enjoys an engaging and informative yarn." --A. J. Hill, author of Under Pressure: The Final Voyage of Submarine S-Five.
Price: $14.42
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Submerged: Adventures of America's Most Elite Underwater Archeology Team
Adventure nonfiction at its best by the co-author, with Gene Hackman, of Wake of the Perdido Star.Submerged is Daniel Lenihan's remarkable story of 25 years as founder and head of the Submerged Cultural Resource Unit (SCRU)—ranging from ancient ruins covered by reservoirs in the desert Southwest to a World War II submarine off the Alaskan coast; from the Isle Royale shipwrecks in the frigid Lake Superior to the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor; from the HL Hunley, the first submarine in history to sink an enemy ship, in Charleston Harbor to the ships sunk by atomic bombs at Bikini Atoll, and much more..
Price: $10.25
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Lonely Planet Diving & Snorkeling Florida Keys (Lonely Planet)
From wrecks to reefs, the Florida Keys offer a treasure trove of diving opportunities, for advanced divers and novices alike. This book describes the best dives in the region, from Biscayne Bay to the Dry Tortugas. In This Guide:Detailed dive information to 64 sites. Full-color photos throughout. Maps of dive regions. Guide to marine life. Travel logistics and topside attractions. .
Price: $15.12
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Dark Waters:An Insider's Account of the NR-1:The Cold War's Undercover Nuclear Sub: An Insider's Account of the NR-1The Cold War's Undercover Nuclear Sub
It was impossibly expensive, extraordinarily dangerous, and as a secret weapon, completely unarmed. For the American military, the state-of-the-art submersible, christened NR-1, would be the most closely guarded-and revolutionary-secret of the Cold War. The pet project of Admiral Hyman Rickover, the father of the nuclear Navy, the 400-ton submarine with a miniature nuclear reactor was designed to dive deeper than any other submarine. But such depths also meant the crew would be cut off from all possible rescue should something go wrong. Now, the full story of the NR-1 is told for the first time through eyewitness accounts by the original crew-including co-author Lee Vyborny-who dared go where no men had gone before..
Price: $2.70
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Shipwrecks Along Superior's North Shore: A Diving Guide
Beneath the icy waters of Lake Superior lies a vast museum of maritime treasures, relics, and souls that in years past were lost to the crashing waves of this massive body of water. Those, those who remain on the surface can glimpse some of the sunken bounty, but most of it is accessible only to those who slip into scuba gear and brave the darkness of the deep. In Shipwrecks Along Lake Superior's North Shore, veteran diver Stephen B. Daniel, in collaboration with the Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society, provides in-depth tours of the many sunken ships submerged in the waters of this region of Lake Superior. Readers will not only learn the maritime history and structural details of the original vessels, they'll also find the fascinating stories of the wrecks themselves–how they happened, what actions were taken to save both crew and vessel, and the modern-day efforts to preserve these sites. With detailed descriptions and hundreds of photographs, charts, and diagrams that will impress even the most seasoned diver, this book will also appeal to anyone who has ever wondered what nautical mysteries lie beneath the waves of the greatest of the Great Lakes. Stephen B. Daniel is an active certified diver, shipwreck historian, and current president of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society. He is a communications professional at 3M and lives in Woodbury, Minnesota. .
Price: $16.47
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Markets and States in Tropical Africa: The Political Basis of Agricultural Policies (California Series on Social Choice and Political Economy)
Most Africans live in rural areas and derive their incomes from farming; but because African governments follow policies that are adverse to most farmers' interests, these countries fail to produce enough food to feed their populations. Markets and States in Tropical Africa analyzes these and other paradoxical features of development in modern Africa and explores how governments have intervened and diverted resources from farmers to other sectors of society. A classic of the field since its publication in 1981, this edition includes a new preface by the author..
Price: $18.99
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