See also papers in SH Archive Miscellaneous papers.

I read this book as research on economic collapse for my upcoming novel The Internet President: None of the Above. Of all the books on the topic, this was my favorite.

The book is on the short side, but I didn't feel cheated by that because of how riveting the story was. Iceland got hit the hardest of the economies in the 2008 financial crisis, a 90% collapse in their stock market. One thing that makes Iceland special it took all the pain at the end of the collapse. This may be a preview for American and the rest of Europe. In the rest of the western civilization easy money delayed the reckoning. Our story is not yet complete. So it's important we learn from Iceland as a modern example of collapse.

The crux of the problem:
1. mixed maturities (buy short term loans, sell long term loans) which pumps your profits as long as you have liquidity (people willing to lend to you).
2. Foreign exchange risk (buy foreign currency, sell local currency) which pumps profits by using a currency with lower interest rates. However, you can get hammered by changes to currency exchange rate changes.
3. Moral hazard from assumed bailouts. Assumed invincibility often proves otherwise.
4. Booms let businesses that aren't that efficient get funding. These businesses would normally fail. When the bust comes, they will fail at the same time.

The book follows the entire arc of the crisis from originating causes to the final reckoning. I highly recommend reading the book.

I won't spoil it here, but the plot twist with England, I didn't see coming. Wow! ( )