The global financial crisis has changed finance and the global economy forever. The debate over its causes and consequences has only just begun. This book brings together VoxEU.org columns written during the height of the storm from June to December 2008, offering a glimpse of history in the making through the eyes of some of the world's leading economists. To help place individual contributions within this historical sequence, an appendix updates the timeline of events from our June publication up to December 2008. Another appendix provides a glossary of technical terms. The columns are grouped under three headings: / How did the crisis spread around the world? / How has the crisis upended traditional thinking about financial economics? / How should we fix the economy and financial system? Available free at http: //www.voxeu.org/reports/reinhart_felton_vol2/First_Global_Crisis_Vol2.pd