CONTENTS

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. CONTENTS v
3. List of Illustrations vii
4. Acknowledgments ix
5. Abbreviations xiii
6. 1. The Problem and Promise of Credit in American Life 1
7. 2. The Credit Frontier 22
8. 3. Three Failures 48
9. 4. Credit as a Tool of Statecraft 69
10. 5. From a Nation of Farmers to a Nation of Homeowners 88
11. 6. Mortgage Bonds for the Small Investor 107
12. 7. The Rise of Federal Credit Programs 124
13. 8. Off-Budget and Decentralized 150
14. 9. A Return to Securitization 174
15. 10. What We Owe One Another 199
16. Notes 213
17. Index 277
18. A NOTE ON THE TYPE 293