Despite official proclamations to the contrary, elite white-collar and corporate offending continue to go unrecognized and unpunished. These acts carry tremendous social costs that overshadow those associated with common crime. The latest financial meltdown is a case in point. Using precise historical analysis, thorough case studies, and the best criminological tools available, Barak brilliantly exposes exactly how and why the American public was victimized as a result of deregulatory policies that were designed to benefit large private firms, and why no major criminal cases were brought in the wake of the largest financial crisis in world history. The book moves easily from theoretical explanations to corresponding major policy implications regarding necessary financial regulatory reform, including a critical analysis of Dodd-Frank. Barak's well-founded conclusions present a formidable challenge to those economists and policy makers who continue to believe that free markets are self-regulating and that fraud plays no significant role in financial debacles. An extremely well-written piece of major scholarship, it will undoubtedly appeal not only to academics and students, but to the lay public as well. It needs to be on the desk of every legislator considering financial reform.

Theft of a Nation clearly stands out among all books to date on the 2008 financial crisis. hat fraud plays no significant role in financial debacles. An extremely well-written piece of major scholarship, it will undoubtedly appeal not only to academics and students, but to the lay public as well. It needs to be on the desk of every legislator considering financial reform. Theft of a Nation clearly stands out among all books to date on the 2008 financial crisis. hat fraud plays no significant role in financial debacles. An extremely well-written piece of major scholarship, it will undoubtedly appeal not only to academics and students, but to the lay public as well. It needs to be on the desk of every legislator considering financial reform.

Theft of a Nation clearly stands out among all books to date on the 2008 financial crisis. hat fraud plays no significant role in financial debacles. An extremely well-written piece of major scholarship, it will undoubtedly appeal not only to academics and students, but to the lay public as well. It needs to be on the desk of every legislator considering financial reform. Theft of a Nation clearly stands out among all books to date on the 2008 financial crisis.