All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis

All the Devils Are Here chronicles the 2008 financial crisis by examining the decades of decisions and structural changes that preceded it. Financial journalists Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera trace the evolution of mortgage finance from the 1970s through the market collapse. The authors investigate key institutions including Fannie Mae, Goldman Sachs, AIG, and government regulatory agencies, revealing how their actions and relationships contributed to the crisis. Their reporting draws from hundreds of interviews with Wall Street executives, government officials, and industry insiders to reconstruct pivotal developments and deals. The book maps the interconnections between investment banks, rating agencies, regulators, and other players in the financial system. It documents how mortgage lending practices changed, how complex financial instruments emerged, and how risk assessment broke down across multiple levels. This account frames the financial crisis as a systemic failure resulting from both individual decisions and broader cultural shifts in American finance and regulation. The narrative highlights questions about oversight, incentives, and the relationship between Wall Street and Washington that remain relevant to discussions of financial reform.

Readers found this a clear explanation of the 2008 financial crisis that assigns blame across many parties rather than looking for a single villain. The book's structure follows multiple parallel storylines that converge into the crisis. Liked: - Clear explanations of complex financial instruments - Detailed character profiles of key figures - Thorough research and documentation - Balanced perspective on responsibility Disliked: - Multiple simultaneous storylines can be hard to follow - Heavy detail slows the pace - Some found it too technical - A few readers wanted more focus on specific institutions "Makes CDOs and credit default swaps actually understandable," noted one Amazon reviewer. Another commented "Too many characters introduced too quickly." Ratings: Goodreads: 4.1/5 (7,800+ ratings) Amazon: 4.4/5 (450+ ratings) The book earned positive reviews from financial publications including The Economist and Financial Times, though some criticized its broad scope.

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📚 Co-author Bethany McLean was one of the first journalists to question Enron's accounting practices, leading to her groundbreaking 2001 Fortune article "Is Enron Overvalued?" 🏦 The book's title comes from Shakespeare's The Tempest: "Hell is empty and all the devils are here," suggesting that the financial crisis wasn't caused by abstract forces but by specific people making specific decisions. 💼 Unlike many other books about the 2008 financial crisis, this one traces the history back 30 years to show how decisions made in the 1980s contributed to the eventual collapse. 📊 McLean and co-author Joe Nocera conducted over 180 interviews with key figures in finance, banking, and government to create this comprehensive account. 🏢 The book reveals how Fannie Mae executives deliberately misled the public about the risks of subprime mortgages, while privately acknowledging the dangers in internal communications.