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Book details

The return of depression economics and the crisis of 2008

by Paul R. Krugman

Published 2009207 pagesISBN 978-0-3933-3780-8

Our newest Nobel Prize-winning economist shows how today's crisis parallels the events that caused the Great Depression and explains what it will take to avoid catastrophe. In his 1999 book, Nobel Prize-winning economist Krugman surveyed the economic crises that had swept across Asia and Latin America, and pointed out that they were a warning: like antibiotic-resistant diseases, the economic maladies that caused the Great Depression were making a comeback. In the years that followed, as Wall Street boomed and wheeler-dealers made vast profits, the crises of the 1990s faded from memory. But when the great housing bubble of the mid-2000s burst, the U.S. financial system proved as vulnerable as those of developing countries. In this greatly updated edition, Krugman shows how the failure of regulation to keep pace with an out-of-control financial system set the United States, and the world, up for the greatest financial crisis since the 1930s. He also lays out the steps that must be taken to contain the crisis, and turn around a world economy sliding into a deep recession.--From publisher description.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Mental Health, Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.

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Full BookenDeX details

What the reading experience may hold

A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.

Themes to notice

Mental Health · Nonfiction

Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.

Content notes

Catalog signals suggest warfare and conflict, mental-health concerns. These notes may not be complete; consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.

These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.

Reading experience

Dark tone · Steady pace

Works well for a focused weekend or a few concentrated sittings.

Who it may suit

A good fit if…

Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.

At a glance

This book's DNA

A visual estimate based on this edition's categories, description, and length. Select a star to explore the signals.

ToneDark
LuminousDark

This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.

No plot details

Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc

A broad estimate of the book’s emotional rhythm, shown without story events or outcomes.

Spoiler-free
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PeakRelative emotional intensity
The return of depression economics and the crisis of 2008Paul R. Krugman
Powerful5/5

This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.

Before you choose

A quick reading snapshot

Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.

Reading lengthA shorter read207 pages in this edition
Publication eraModernFirst published or edition dated 2009
Primary categoryMental HealthAlso cataloged under Nonfiction
ISBN-13
978-0-3933-3780-8
Language
English
Edition record
OL27085533M
BookenDeX editorial lens

A more thoughtful way into this book

This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.

Good to know

Works well for a focused weekend or a few concentrated sittings.

Begin with its place in Mental Health, then notice where the book resists that label.

Try this reading approach

Read for connection, not completion.

Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.

Three questions to carry with you

  1. Which ideas feel usable in your actual circumstances—not only persuasive on the page?
  2. Where does the author distinguish evidence, experience, and opinion?
  3. What would a small, humane experiment with one idea look like?

Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.