Lewis intelligently--and humorously--explains the global effects of the economic crisis in "Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World."

Reviews

Lewis (The Big Short) puts his own spin on financial-disaster tourism, traveling to places we hear about in the headlines but whose economic troubles few of us really understand: Iceland, Greece, Ireland, Germany, and even California. Originally written as a series of articles for Vanity Fair, these pieces all reflect Lewis's flair for making complex financial shenanigans comprehensible to the nonbusiness reader as well as his talent for teasing character profiles (like the Texas financier who bought 20 million nickels for their metal value) and stories out of nameless bureaucracies and amorphous events. The individual chapters are engaging, but they remain a somewhat disconnected group without much in the way of an introduction or conclusion to bring them together. Lewis also tends to engage in a bit of cultural stereotyping that may not be to all readers' taste-Icelanders, for example, have a "feral streak," and Germans are fascinated with all things scheisse (shit). Verdict Lewis is red-hot right now (thanks in no small part to recent movie versions of The Blind Side and Moneyball) and there will be demand for this title, which, despite its shortcomings and depressing subject matter, is fascinating.-Sarah Statz Cords, The Reader's Advisor Online (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.