In the summer of 2007, the subprime empire that Wall Street had built all came crashing down. Banks like Countrywide and non-banks such as New Century Financial--all financed by Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and others--were in danger of closing, or actually failing. On average, 50 lenders a month were going bust. Chain of Blame will chronicle the disaster, focusing on the players - the executives on Wall Street but also the lenders and brokers. It's a national story of greed and avarice, one that hasn't come down the pike since the S&L scandal.--From publisher description.

Angelo speaks; the worldwide contagion begins -- The repo man meets the bald granny : a short history of subprime -- The death of the Bailey Building and Loan, the rise of millionaire loan brokers and Countrywide -- The Beach Boys of B&C : how Roland Arnall became the Johnny Appleseed of subprime -- Angelo rising : the son of a Bronx butcher makes good -- The holy roller of REITs -- The end of the (new) century -- A conspiracy by Merrill? -- A warning from Lewie: CDOs, SIVs, and other things no one understands -- Deep in the belly of the bear -- Armageddon times: the tan man departs, bye-bye Bear -- What the hell happened? : ten bad years for housing in America -- We buried (some of) our garbage overseas.