If you want to have a proper and entertaining explanation of why there was an economic crash in 2008, then you have to ready the book "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis.
Even though I've finished reading the book a month ago, my bad memory of names make me unable to remember the various actors in this recollection of events. The narrative centers around a few investors that predicted that many so-called highly secure triple-A mortgage bonds were effectively crap, and by buying insurance on them were effectively betting against them. Step by step Lewis describes the odd rise and structure of those so-called credit debt obligations, and how it created a Ponzi-like scheme of credit default swaps. While those financial instruments were purposely made to be difficult to grasp, the author still manages to properly explain how CDOs and CDS came to be, operated, and due to lax deregulation and sheer personal greed nearly caused the crash of the entire US economy.
So, yes, a highly recommended read, even if like me you're not much into economic matters and simply want an insight on the culture of the few that control so much wealth.