Your group MUST tell me which book you are reading before spring break. Then, I will read it too or review it if I have read it before. If your group does not tell me before spring break, I will not be prepared to discuss with you the week afterward.
The End of Wall Street by Roger Lowenstein
This book is comprehensive, really giving one a big picture of both how the crisis came to be, the details of what happened within it, and the government responses afterward. Fairly good narrative style as well, but a lot of people to try and keep track of.
13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown by Simon Johnson
Simon Johnson was an influential economist who worked for a time as the International Monetary Fund's Economic Counselor and director of research. His writing style is engaging and fluid. I haven't read this one yet...
All the Devils are Here: A Hidden History of the Financial Crisis by Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera
I haven't read this one yet...
End this Depression Now! by Paul Krugman
Paul Krugman is a Nobel laureate, and also one of the foremost liberal economists working today. His books tend to push the Keynesian argument for intervention, and this book was written when the recession's effects were felt directly by many people. Krugman's perspective is helpful for understanding one of the major arguments for government intervention during economic crises.
Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future by Robert Reich
Robert Reich was the Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton, and is like Krugman a liberal whose main beef is with inequality and the effects of economic changes on the middle class. I haven't read this one yet...
This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly by Carmen Reinhart
I haven't read this one yet...
Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy by Raghuram Rajan
Raghuram Rajan was one of the few highly-placed people on the "inside" of decisionmaking circles to raise the alarm about the housing market and it's effects on the broader financial markets, several years before the crisis really took off. His book stands out because it does not focus narrowly on Wall Street or even the United States, but takes a look worldwide at issues affecting the global economy. Be aware that while this book is not technical by an economist's standard, it is very analytical and you will need to concentrate to read it.
The Alchemists: Three Central Bankers and a World on Fire by Neil Irwin
I haven't read this one yet...