Book Review: More Mortgage Meltdown, by Whitney Tilson

In terms everyone can easily understand, Whitney Tilson and Glenn Tongue dissect the greed and folly that spread from Wall Street to Main Street and caused the mortgage mess. More Mortgage Meltdown serves as an excellent reminder that the ugly side to human nature has far reaching and lasting consequences.

In explaining what happened and why, Tilson and Tongue bring a working knowledge of psychology, a firm understanding of investing, and research that leaves few stones unturned. They were not the first people to determine what a crisis we were in but, to their credit, they were smart enough to listen to others and take appropriate action.

The presentation of material is clear, logical, and well-researched. However, those looking for a silver bullet as to what caused the meltdown will end up disappointed. There were many contributing factors that could have caused many possible outcomes.

What struck me the most while reading this book is the blatant self denial from everyone who participated. At every stage in the process people from home buyers to bankers seemed to realize what they were doing was either wrong, stupid, or a combination of the two. In short, greed tainted thinking.

As much as I liked the book, there are some faults. First, it’s not really one book but rather three separate books (the mortgage mess, an introduction to value investing, and the presentation of 6 investment ideas). I didn’t read the book for an intro to value investing so was disappointed that only half the book was on the mortgage mess. One other small point, I hate the title -- reading this book at the local coffee shop made me feel like I was reading a “get rich quick book.”

If you’re looking for a great introduction to what happened in the US mortgage market, this book is a must read.

More Mortgage Meltdown: 6 Ways to Profit in These Bad Times, by Whitney Tilson with Glenn Tongue (Wiley, May 2009).

Comments

[sickofthehype:]

How To Profit huh. Well, write a book on how to profit, that's the only sure fire way..

Jun 13 10:09 AM

[The-Stock-M...:]

The publishing of the book seems to be appropriately timed, now that there is talk everywhere about prime (not subprime) mortgages about to start defaulting in the September/October 2009 timeframe. Once this reality sets in, it maybe time for another stock market crash in the fall, just like the one that occurred last year.

Jun 13 12:56 PM

[jacflash:]

A lot of that talk about the prime mortgages comes from Tilson... not that he's wrong.

Jun 13 02:29 PM

[MrZack888:]

somebody should write about on how to profit from the collapse of US middle class. Also write a book on how to profit from the collapse of a Representative Democracy of America. or oh oh , a book on how to profit from illegal wars started by America, or a book on how to profit from the sickness industry of America, how to profit from police brutality, how to profit from US global Imperialism, how to profit from the end of America, how to profit from coming biological disease pandemic, how to profit from nuclear war....

Jun 13 06:51 PM

[bricki:]

And how to profit from inane babbling on financial news sites.

Jun 13 09:14 PM

[bkdc:]

All you have to do is read the graphs in that book. A second massive wave of foreclosures is coming. Tilson is on the ball.

It's a shame the book is subtitled "6 Ways to Profit in These Bad Times". The title makes it sound like a get-rich-quick book when there's much more to the book than investment advice.

Jun 14 12:12 PM

[conceptwizard:]

I guess writing book is a good thing. The more the general public becomes aware of the reality of the crises we are in, the better equipped they will be to make the decisions necessary to survive.
I sincerely believe that if drastic policy changes are not implemented to scale down the expenditures and drastically reduce defense spending and entilement programs, we will witness the end of an empire. We will survive, that is not in question, its the quality of life that will be decimated. Take a quick look at California, one of the top ten economies in the world compared to all countries including the USA. They are virtually bankrupt, and will declare force majeur in 50 days unless "terminator" decimates their budget, and I mean decimate!

The only difference between California and the USA as a country is the ability for the USA to PRINT MONEY! Does that make us any less bankrupt? I would argue no, the only difference is that we devalue our dollar and expect the rest of the worlds central banks to pick up the tab. They will not finance our debts forever, it is costing them too much money., they are seeking alternatives rather than be tied to our debt.

Jun 14 07:46 PM

[cameroni:]

Hmmmm .....Profits

Sounds dirty. I'll get my copy sent in a brown paper wrapper.

Jun 15 03:11 AM