In 2008, the economic relationship between the United States and China almost collapsed due to a crisis at two American mortgage corporations, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This book explains how that crisis came about, and analyzes the consequences and implications.

Introduction Asian Savings and American Borrowing The Domestic Politics of American Home Ownership Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the Mortgage Boom The Crisis of 2007-8 Conclusions Index

HELEN THOMPSON is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge, UK. Her most recent book is Might, Right, Prosperity and Consent: Representative Democracy and the International Economy 1919-2001.