Borrow: The American Way of Debt

In this lively history of consumer debt in America, economic historian Louis Hyman demonstrates that today’s problems are not as new as we think.

Borrow examines how the rise of consumer borrowing—virtually unknown before the twentieth century—has altered our culture and economy. Starting in the years before the Great Depression, increased access to money raised living standards but also introduced unforeseen risks. As lending grew more and more profitable, it displaced funds available for business borrowing, setting our economy on an unsustainable course. Told through the vivid stories of individuals and institutions affected by these changes, Borrow charts the collision of commerce and culture in twentieth-century America, giving an historical perspective on what is new—and what is not—in today’s economic turmoil.

A Paperback Original

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION: Everything Old Is New Again
CHAPTER ONE When Personal Debt Was Really Business Debt (2000 B.C.–A.D. 1920)
CHAPTER TWO Everybody Paid Cash for the Model T (1908–1929)
CHAPTER THREE Fannie Mae Can Save America (1924–1939)
CHAPTER FOUR How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Debt (1945–1960)
CHAPTER FIVE Discounted Goods and Distributed Credit (1959–1970)
CHAPTER SIX Bringing Good Things to Life (1970–1985)
CHAPTER SEVEN If Only the Gnomes Had Known (1968–1986)
CHAPTER EIGHT The House of Credit Cards (1986–2008)
CONCLUSION Turning the Magic of Borrowing into the Reality of Prosperity