Not my usual reading fare, but I am trying to branch out. Three stars may seem like a lacklustre rating, but in truth it's no reflection on the quality of the journalistic research here, which is absolutely excellent. The three authors appear to have done substantially more than a lot of the government and regulatory agencies trying to investigate these crimes. However, as those authors point out, white collar crime is frequently pushed aside in favour of more "obvious" criminality - given the havoc these people cause, though, with their pathological greed, that is deeply unfortunate. And, frankly, counterproductive.

So, no issue with the research, or with the conclusions. It's just with the best will in the world I can't get that interested in business. It's a steep learning curve, a book like this, and one that's not helped by the overdose of acronym on every page. Depressingly, it seems to repeat, too, in great detail, a number of extremely similar stories. Greedy Bastard from (insert state here) bilks everyone around him, having essentially bought off enough politicians and other sorts to clear his way, and ultimately slinks back into the crony network of Greedy Bastards because they all support each other. I mean the weight of evidence is impressive, but it's just so bloody depressing. Not gonna lie, it's also pretty stodgy and took me literally months to read; I had to do it a little at a time. One of those books that is highly admirable, but I can't say that I come away with a genuine liking for it. Like vaccination, really - absolutely worthwhile, but the needle is still no fun.