A gripping account of the global financial collapse by the BBC’s economics editor

Meltdown tells the story of the financial crisis that destroyed the West’s investment banks, brought the global economy to its knees, and began to undermine three decades of neoliberal orthodoxy.

Covering the credit crunch and its aftershocks from the economic front line, BBC journalist Paul Mason explores the roots of the US and UK’s financial hubris, documenting the real world causes and consequences from the Ford Factory, to Wall Street, to the City of London. In response to the immense challenge now facing the existing economic system, he outlines a new era of hyper-regulated capitalism that could emerge from the wreckage.

Praise for Meltdown: The End of the Age of Greed

“A page turning account … Mason is refreshingly clear-eyed — and angry.” — Will Hutton, Guardian

“What people need is a reliable guide to the financial crisis … Meltdown is the book they are looking for.” — John Gray, New Statesman

“A lucid and sharply polemical account of the crisis.” — Oliver Kamm, The Times

“A reporter’s eye-view of key events, enlivened by colourful brushstrokes.” — Sunday Telegraph

Paul Mason is the economics editor of BBC Newsnight and has covered globalization and social justice stories from locations across the world, including Latin America, Africa and China. His previous book, Live Working, Die Fighting, was longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award. His blog, Idle Scrawl, chronicles the unfolding financial crisis.