This is a plain-English explanation of how we got into the current economic disaster that developed out of the economics and politics of the housing boom and bust. The "creative" financing of home mortgages, and the even more "creative" marketing of financial securities based on these mortgages to countries around the world, are part of the story of how a financial house of cards was built up and then suddenly collapsed. The politics behind all this is another story full of strange twists. No punches are pulled when discussing politicians of either party, the financial dangers they created, or the distractions they created later to escape their own responsibility for what happened. Sowell unravels the tangled threads of the situation and explores the implications to reveal some surprising and sobering lessons.