Why Iceland?

the long version

As late as the mid 1980s, Iceland's economy revolved around little else than a semi-robust cod-fishing industry. By the end of the century, however, it had transformed itself into a major player in world finance, building an international banking empire worth twelve times its GDP. The tiny island nation of 300,000 was one of the global economy's great success stories.And then everything came crashing down.Why Iceland? is the inside account of one of the economic meltdown's most fascinating and far-reaching tragedies. As Chief Economist of Kaupthing Bank, the country's largest bank before the collapse, Asgeir Jonsson is perfectly suited to examine Iceland's collapse in painstaking detail. He witnessed behind-the-scenes events firsthand, such as an intriguing meeting in January 2008 when a group of international hedge fund managers gathered in a bar in Reykjavik to discuss Iceland's economy-an informal affair that eventually became the center...