Reddit reviews All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis

That's an awesome list. I'd echo that the two very best sources to learn about the exact crimes committed leading up to the financial crisis are The Untouchables and
Inside Job.

And I'd add a third:
Predator Nation (written by the guy who made Inside Job)

If people just want a single source, The Untouchables is where they should go. It shows how banks sold products they knew were defective. That is fraud, and it is criminal. Simple as that. The executives were knowingly selling those products (and there were many) should be in jail.

Here's a fuller list of selections I can recommend from a reading list at TooBigHasFailed.org. Any of these sources are good for learning what was going on leading up to the crash.

Podcasts

NPR: The Giant Pool of Money |
NPR: Return to the Giant Pool of Money |
NPR: Another Frightening Show about the Economy |
EconTalk interview w/ Simon Johnson

Documentaries

Addendum to Inside Job |
PBS: Money, Power, & Wall Street |
Aljazeera: Meltdown |
60 Minutes: The Speed Traders |
Quants: The Alchemists of Wall Street

Books

I.O.U. - John Lanchester |
Griftopia - Matt Taibbi |
Infectious Greed - Frank Partnoy |
All the Devils are Here - Joe Nocera & Bethany McLean |
Traders, Guns, and Money - Satyajit Das |
Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Report

ETA: I see that a moderator here is requesting academic sources. Here are three good ones: Fault Lines - Raghuram Rajan | Republic, Lost - Lawrence Lessig | This Time Is Different - Reinhart & Rogoff

To be honest, most of the academic sources I've read don't focus on criminality on Wall Street. I'd love to find more that do, though.

I suggest you read this book for a better understanding of this particular issue.

http://www.amazon.com/All-Devils-Are-Here-Financial/dp/1591843634

no joke bro, no joke.

All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis
by Bethany McLean, Joe Nocera.

http://www.amazon.com/All-Devils-Are-Here-Financial/dp/1591843634

You're exactly right. I just finished All The Devils Are Here recently (a fantastic read), it goes in depth to everything that contributed the housing bubble, which starts all the way back in the 70's.

There was large amounts of deregulation well before the second Bush administration, though they did carry through with a very lax regulatory oversight that was spearheaded by Greenspan, Summers and Rubin.

Insider trading, shady lawyers, and Ponzi schemes are all as old as sin (or at least as old as markets and lawyers, so.. I dunno.. the 1500s). They are not problems that developed over the last 30 years, whereas the deregulation of the financial industry and the resulting institutionalized corruption are. To be fair, market bubbles and their inevitable popping are hardly new, either, but in this case, I would argue that this is more than "tulip mania" - this economic crisis is the culmination of dozens - hundreds - of fundamental flaws in the structure of our financial system an its interaction with our government. Other world governments, as well. Bernie Madoff had nothing at all to do with the crash in 2008 - it just so happened that his story broke at roughly the same time, so it might have seemed related. In reality, he screwed his clients (most of which were pretty rich to begin with). The SYSTEM screwed everyone else. For an excellent history of how this crisis was built over decades, I suggest reading All the Devils Are Here ...

Hell is empty, and all the devils are here.

A great book is http://www.amazon.com/All-Devils-Are-Here-Financial/dp/1591843634 . Imo it is the best book on the topic. Also, you do not need any prior economic understanding to be able to read it. And it is pretty unbiased.

To add to your list check out "All the Devils are Here" http://www.amazon.com/All-Devils-Are-Here-Financial/dp/1591843634

fannie and freddie were small players in subprime untill very late in the game. the entire reason the subprime market existed was because it was the only market private companies could compete in because the GSEs wouldnt touch it. the major players were companies like countrywide which had IRCC about 25% of subprime marketshare.

in the book "all the devils are here" it is explained that the GSEs were very hesitant to get into subprime and basically had to be forced by poor and minority advocates in congress.

seriously you should buy or pirate taht book and read it. its very good. it goes all the way back to the 80s and 70s with invention of CDOs.

http://www.amazon.com/All-Devils-Are-Here-Financial/dp/1591843634

All the Devils Are Here

All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis