<P>It has been nearly four years since the financial crisis of 2008, and the globalfinancial system still is experiencing malaise caused by high rates of unemployment;a lingering, unresolved supply of foreclosed properties; the deepening European debt crisis; and fear of a recurrence of the bank turmoil that brought about the Great Recession. All of these factors have led to stagnant economic growth worldwide.</P><P>In <I>Rocky Times</I>, editors Yasuyuki Fuchita, Richard Herring, and Robert E. Litan bring together experts from academia and the banking system to analyze the difficult issuesconcerning troubled large financial institutions in an environment of economic uncertainty and growing public anger. Continuing the format of the previous Brookings-Nomura collaborations, <I>Rocky Times</I> focuses largely on developments within the UnitedStates and Japan but looks at those in other nations as well.</P><P>This volume focuses on two broad areas: the Japanese approach to regulating financial institutions and promoting financial stability and the U.S. approach in light of the Dodd-Frank legislation. Specific topics include "Managing Systemwide Financial Crises:A Macro Approach ?Some Lessons from Japan since 1990," "The Case for Properly Designed Contingent Capital Instruments," and "The Bankruptcy of Bankruptcy."</P>