Yeah I’ve been talking about /recommending /looking forward to the Tom Woods doc since it had the working title The Panic of 2008 (see here, here, here, off the top of my head). In fact, I just recommended it a few hours ago. (Notice all the youtube vids are compiled in the “production blog” on the website).
I even created a thread a couple months ago when Tom asked for input on a new title.
Finally, be sure to check out the reviews of Inside Job if you haven’t already.
The movie got an Oscar.
/thread
I saw that post maybe five minutes ago. Nice- In your opinion, would reading Schiff’s Crash Proof tell me something I wouldn’t know by reading Meltdown, or are they largely the same (apart from the perspective: Schiff looking forward, Woods reflecting)? I’m considering buying Crash Proof 2.0.
I saw the movie in class a few months ago and was unimpressed (I immediately reacted when I heard Damon state that some of Iceland’s richest investors were playing with more money than the GDP of Iceland, full stop). I saw your posts regarding it on this thread and was telling a buddy sitting next to me what was wrong with the film as it was discussed (especially that graph with the “Bush Tax Cuts”). I also read Jeffrey Tucker’s review (again, your post) and a bit of your argument on that page (with Concerned, Concerned 1, and Concerned 2) as well as the GSL review: To quote a more enlightening film, “I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul”. Brilliant.
As far as Austrian theory and analysis of the situation, not really. But as you point out, Schiff’s book (being penned in 2006) is more forward-looking, basically saying what is going to happen and why. Meltdown was meant to be more or less an autopsy. And yes, it’s not as extensive or detailed as something like Financial Fiasco, but as Woods points out in various talks about his book, he took great effort to have his be the first one out on the shelves basically after the collapse…so someone like Norberg would have had a lot more time and data to include in their book. (As, obviously when Woods wrote his, a lot of the data we have now just wasn’t available.)
So as far as simple explanation of the collapse and explanation /application of Austrian theory, Meltdown is certainly the best resource (especially for a newb…i.e. it’s among the top 5 recommendations for someone you’re looking to educate.)
However, Crash Proof is valuable because not only does it give a nice foundation and is also accessible for an average reader, but Schiff actually comes at things from a more investment perspective. And the “foundation” is not so much Austrian econ, as much as just a sound understanding of the situation and the markets. (Obviously Austrian econ is the sound understanding, but I don’t remember Schiff actually mentioning the word “Austrian” at all in the book. It was much like you hear from him in his television and radio talks…it essentially is AE, but distilled down to basic logic and sound analysis presented in a very digestible way.
I highly recommend *Crash Proof 2.*0. And you don’t have to worry about missing anything from the original edition, as it’s included entirely in 2.0. There is a torrent that includes a PDF, HTML, and audiobook versions of the book, which you can find from a simple search.
Ah yes. Concerned. That was a fun one. Nice to see at least someone’s getting some use out of those late, great blog posts/comments 
Actually, come to think of it, another you may be interested in is the review for Broke: The New American Dream. I’m not sure if you’d like to watch that film before reading any reviews, but I can tell you you wouldn’t be missing much if you didn’t. And the copy that was on youtube (in 6 parts) was taken down some time ago, and it’s not a very popular film, so it may be difficult to find a copy.
But when you get to the reviews, go ahead and read Tucker’s first. I don’t remember where I was mentioning this, but as you can tell after reading my own more realistic review, you’ll see how Tucker went to some pretty good lengths to write a basically favorable review. I don’t know if he met Covel at some point and is friendly with him or what, but for whatever reason he felt the need to softball it.
One of the reasons why I chose this over the original. I don’t know how to work torrents, though, and I can’t find a free .epub file (to convert to a .mobi for the Kindle).
That was funny: everyone in that review post liked the movie and thought that its, at least, a decent documentary (most seem to recommend his trend books, especially). Then you come in and post:
