Rating: 
Summary: Not Only Fragile but Vulnerable
Review: As a 20-year bankruptcy practitioner,I believe this book is a "must read" for any one whose income is less than seven-figure. It could happen to you! The factors leading to bankruptcy are varied, but have a common thread: an over extension of credit and a "hiccup" in life that makes it unduly burdensome or impossible to shoulder the debt. The seductive siren call of "For everything else there is MasterCard" and "VISA, everywhere you want to be" or "nothing down, no interest, and no payments for a year" is for many irresistible. Credit cards can be very convenient but also, as the authors point out, hazardous to one's economic health. Credit cards should come with a warning similar to the Surgeon General's warning for tobacco. While the explosion in bankruptcy filings during the past decade is fairly spread over the various age groups, it is the under 30 group that is the most vulnerable in the future. With almost limitless student loan availablility and multiple multi-purpose credit cards, i.e., VISA and MasterCard (even to high schoolers), the ability to incur indebtedness far beyond any reasonable realistic expectation of ability to repay is pandemic. When a person can leave college saddled with $50,000 or more in student loan obligations and incur an additional $50,000, or more, in "small bite at a time" debt in the span of less than 5 years, it does not take much of a "hiccup" in life to bring the house of cards down. As the authors so well illustrate, consumer finance education and teaching fiscal discipline at the high school level is an absolute must. Those who practice "immediate gratification," like Humpty Dumpty, are headed for a major fall and bankruptcy can not put them back together again.
Rating:
Summary: Owe my Soul
Review: Excellent read if you wondering about the number of bankruptcies or have been puzzled about the decline in real wages over the last few decades. It may make you think twice about your own finances!
Rating: 
Summary: DROWNING IN DEBT
Review: IN 2OO3, OVER 1.6 MILLION AMERICANS FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY. OVER 33% OF THE AMERICANS THAN OWN A HOME ARE ONE PAYCHECK AWAY FROM FORECLOSURE. Is it that hard to believe that America is fastly becoming a nation of debtors. Even more interesting, the government actually promotes it by slack regulations, unnaturally low interest rates, and a willingness to keep Americans spending. This book does a fantastic job in helping anyone understand just how bad it is, and just how blind we as Americans are to the situation. 4 STARS! - Mason Johnson, President, www.tomorrowsgold.com
Rating: 
Summary: A Rehash
Review: Rehashes their earlier book and reiterates the same tautology: too much debt causes bankruptcy.
Rating:
Summary: Things You Need to Know
Review: The book is very well written and the chapters are well organized. Some may just want to borrow it from a library, though. Some people may only have need for some of the chapters. Parts of the book should be broken down for high school curriculums to teach students fiscal responsibility before they go out in the world. Colleges should have classes in Economics that require this book. All public libraries should own it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read
Review: These people truly understand the bankrupt debtor. Few do. If either of the bankruptcy reform bills pass in their current form America is in trouble. You see, people need a fresh start. Current reform will push people into Chapter 13 and force people to live within IRS standards. Unfortunately, when people think of a bankrupt person they think "deadbeat." That's not true. And by reading this book its obvious that these authors understand that. What needs to happen is you tweak the Chapter 7 guidelines, but put more emphasis on giving people an incentive to file Chapter 13. (i.e., bankruptcy removed in 3 to 5 years when discharged!) This book is very well written and full of non-biased information like all of the other so-called "studies" published by people and companies who want bankruptcy reform.
Rating:
Summary: Lessons from the '90s
Review: This book discuss the reasons in the increase number of bankrutptcy filings within the last decade. The '90s was a time of great prosperity. Huge technological changes came by. In many ways our community life seems easier with advance in medicine, transportation, communication and the Internet. But reality is very confusing as you read "The Fragile Middle Class". Real average income decreased. A higher family income was reached due to the fact that, like never before, there was more than one income in the household. Even with this additional income, many families can barely make it. Consumer debt is rising, more so after a divorce, unexpected medical expenses, job instability and the purchase of a home at any cost. American society has experienced a negative income, collectively people are not saving money. Only the richest 20 percent of the American population has had a real income increase during the last two decades. The use of credit was increasingly easier. Meanwhile the industrial sector dealt with inflation reducing operational cost by reducing payroll and resorting to contracting services. The middle class is subject to periods of adjustment and transition. Once a job is lost debts keep pilling up. Unemployment figures not necessarily reflect the dynamic behind job instability. Credit was used to maintain social status with huge amount of interest charged. Even if consumers could stop incurring in new debt and reducings costs, high interest rates keep debts going up. Lately credit has been easily available to "higher risk consumers", people who most likely will not be able to pay their debts. The percentage of divorced persons in bankruptcy is bigger than the percentage of divorced persons in the general population. Of this percentage, women with children confront the most difficulties. Family budget full of debts, unstable jobs and all the other factors mentioned keep homes at risk. Between 1996 and 1998 the American middle class paid off 26 billions in credit cards and consumer debts through home equity mortgages. As an attorney for debtors in bankruptcy for over 25 years I recommend this book to understand middle class income instability and the increase in bankruptcy filings.
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Summary: Wake-up Call for Women and the Middle Class
Review: This book is a follow-up to the authors' classic study of the bankruptcy issue As We Forgive Our Debtors. In this book, the authors look at the reasons debtors file for bankruptcy. Among the many interesting findings, the authors note the increased numbers of homeowners filing for bankruptcy. Not only are they filing because of other huge debts, but often they are resorting to bankruptcy BECAUSE of homeownership. Some resort to Chapter 13 in order to get caught up on mortgage payments, while others try desperately to hang on when it might have been more advisable to surrender the house. In short, homeownership is not seen so much as an asset as a liability.The authors devote much of their book to the increased amount of credit card debt consumers in general and bankrupt debtors in particular carry and why this has happened. This is especially timely, as Congress seems well on the way of passing so-called bankruptcy "reform" that would benefit credit card companies to the detriment of debtors by forcing more of the latter into Chapter 13 or denying them bankruptcy access altogether. This is a very readable, very well-researched book by three of the top experts on bankruptcy law in the United States.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent analysis of Why People File for Bankruptcy
Review: This book is a follow-up to the authors' classic study of the bankruptcy issue As We Forgive Our Debtors. In this book, the authors look at the reasons debtors file for bankruptcy. Among the many interesting findings, the authors note the increased numbers of homeowners filing for bankruptcy. Not only are they filing because of other huge debts, but often they are resorting to bankruptcy BECAUSE of homeownership. Some resort to Chapter 13 in order to get caught up on mortgage payments, while others try desperately to hang on when it might have been more advisable to surrender the house. In short, homeownership is not seen so much as an asset as a liability. The authors devote much of their book to the increased amount of credit card debt consumers in general and bankrupt debtors in particular carry and why this has happened. This is especially timely, as Congress seems well on the way of passing so-called bankruptcy "reform" that would benefit credit card companies to the detriment of debtors by forcing more of the latter into Chapter 13 or denying them bankruptcy access altogether. This is a very readable, very well-researched book by three of the top experts on bankruptcy law in the United States.
Rating:
Summary: Wake-up Call for Women and the Middle Class
Review: This is an important book for women to read. It explores how our seemingly-secure middle class lifestyles may be shattered by a job loss or a serious accident or illness. The authors explain how credit card debt makes families particularly at risk. The most disturbing chapter to me was the description of what happens to women following divorce. The authors show that a divorced woman has a 300% greater chance of filing for bankruptcy than her married sister. Can it be, as the authors say, that a woman's economic success is still largely dependent on marrying--and staying married? This book made me think about social class mobility in a different way. The authors study middle class people on their way down. They show how people with good educations and in decent jobs can have their lives turned upside down by a layoff, a job transfer, an illness, an accident, or a divorce. According to the authors, more than a million families each year are going to the bankruptcy courts for protection. The book is well-written, lively and sometimes witty. A good, but disturbing, read.
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