Okay, I like Michael Lewis, Liars Poker was a classic, I liked The New New Thing, Moneyball was amazing, and The Blind Side was great too.  But I did not love The Big Short.  Maybe it was just too depressing, maybe I'm just not as interested in finance as sports, maybe the characters were not compelling; who knows.  The writing was great, the analysis was seemingly spot-on, and I learned a lot (who knew or cared what a credit default swap was before this?)  But it just didn't click.

As I think about it, the problem with this story wasn't the sad ending, it was the fact that the ending was sad for us, but not for the characters who were responsible.  Because of the government's incompetence while the fuses were lit and its panic after the explosions, those responsible got off with huge profits, while taxpayers like you and me were stuck bailing out their companies.

Your mileage may vary...