getAbstract Summary: Get the key points from this book in less than 10 minutes.

Most people aren't very familiar with Iceland, an isolated, homogenous, near-Arctic island. Now, thanks to Roger Boyes's wonderfully told tale of its financial collapse, readers can learn what happened to the economy, politics and culture of this unusual, mostly-frozen nation. Iceland was the unlikely first victim of the 2008 global financial collapse – the actual canary in the coal mine. Its financial excesses, cronyism and poor governance serve as a microcosm of the problems facing the largest capitalist nations. Boyes's financial case study flows like a novel. He is unafraid to draw biting conclusions from his detailed presentation: here, villains are villains, greed is greed, names are named. This fast-moving story puts the global fiscal meltdown into perspective. getAbstract rates this as important reading for anyone who seeks insight into the 2008-2009 international economic crisis, which began in this lone, cold outpost and then burst into global flames.

Book Publisher:

Bloomsbury USA