Part investigative biography and part biographical anthology, this book explores the U.S. housing bubble that triggered the 2007–2008 financial crisis. Michael Lewis profiles contrarian investors — including Michael Burry, Steve Eisman, Greg Lippmann, and Charlie Ledley & Jamie Mai — who spotted the bubble early and made outsized returns by betting against it.

A historical account of the U.S. “Great Inflation” from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, detailing the policy decisions—and missteps—that allowed inflation to become entrenched. Samuelson examines how actions under the Nixon administration fueled inflation, while the Reagan era’s monetary tightening brought painful disinflation. He also explores how the economic boom that followed in the post-1980s period fostered complacency and systemic risk, ultimately contributing to the 2008–2009 financial crisis.