Book excerpt: "This book tells a sad story about the many forces that brought hard times to the savings and loan business. What emerges all too clearly is that when the business was "deregulated," the Congress, the administration and the government agencies assigned to supervise and examine these institutions badly misjudged what was happening. In general, the book demonstrates that the savings and loan failures of the 1980s are part of the legacy of deregulation"--Page xi.