Book excerpt: Can we prevent another financial crisis? We can! Break Up the Banks! is a sensible, actionable, and totally accessible call to arms from an acclaimed financial journalist It’s been eight years since the financial crisis, but has anyone taken real action to prevent the next one? Former Economist reporter David Shirreff thinks not, and in Break Up the Banks!, he gives us a short but essential guide to what exactly we can do. With great clarity and a keen sense of humor, Shirreff argues that banks have gotten far too big and far too powerful—and shows how they can be reined in.