Elizabeth Warren of Harvard Law School has scoured two decades of census data for an eye-opening analysis of why middle class Americans are failing financially in record numbers.

The Two Income Trap looks at what people are spending their money on and concludes that it is housing in good school districts, not fancy cars, electronic toys or meals eaten out, that is causing the crunch. Two wage earners,striving to give their children a better life, make the family vulnerable to any little blip in their income, leaving them on the edge of bankruptcy.

Warren's writing is lively and engaging, and her findings certainly refute the charge that those filing bankruptcy largely got there through self indulgence or irresponsibility.

Cathy Moran