<blockquote> <p> <i>Vanity Fair</i> presents 21 true stories of the new hard times </p> <p> Where did all the billions go? </p> </blockquote> <p> Commissioned by the editors at <i>Vanity Fair</i> magazine, <i>The Great Hangover</i> is an eye-opening collection of essays on the global economic crisis by fifteen of the most respected contemporary business writers in America, including: </p> <p> Bryan Burrough (<i>Barbarians at the Gate</i>) on the atmosphere of uncertainty and fear that preceded the demise of Bear Stearns . . . </p> <p> Michael Lewis (<i>Liar's Poker</i>) on Iceland's bizarre national implosion . . . </p> <p> Mark Bowden (<i>Black Hawk Down</i>) on the decline of <i>The New York Times</i> and the threat to the ailing newspaper industry . . . </p> <p> Mark Seal on the defining figure of the seriously tarnished New Gilded Age: the Grand Master of Greed, Bernie Madoff . . . </p> <p> Along with compelling and sometimes hair-raising pieces from a dozen other <i>Vanity Fair</i> contributors on the recent recession's myriad villains and victims?and the worldwide impact of the financial downturn. </p>