The euro crisis is one of those topics you need to have an opinion on, lest a pub conversation take a series turn and leave you mute and embarrassed.

Unfortunately, global economics is not a topic many of us have much time to tuck into properly – and there’s no shame in that.

The ‘… For Dummies’ series – those of the bright yellow covers we still somehow associate with IT nightmares – have decided to step into the breach with their latest title The Euro Crisis For Dummies.

Written by UK financial expert Julian Knight, the book does what it says on the tin: makes the world’s latest fiscal disaster seem a little less scary (as a subject at least) by explaining, in simple terms, what it’s all about, how it happened and what just might happen next.

But if, like us, you’re less of a Euro Crisis dummy and more of a complete Euro Crisis numbskull, you might want to click on the gallery below where we’ve taken the ten most salient points from the book and made them even easier to digest.

Ireland was the first to go:

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The Irish had a booming economy throughout the 1990s and 2000s, but much of it was built on massive levels of personal debt and an overheating housing market. So when the global financial crisis arrived, the Irish were particularly hard hit and the country rapidly fell into recession. As a result, the UK and wealthier members of the Eurozone have bought Irish government debt to help support the troubled Emerald Isle.

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The Irish had a booming economy throughout the 1990s and 2000s, but much of it was built on massive levels of personal debt and an overheating housing market. So when the global financial crisis arrived, the Irish were particularly hard hit and the country rapidly fell into recession. As a result, the UK and wealthier members of the Eurozone have bought Irish government debt to help support the troubled Emerald Isle.

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Sylvia Plath Quotes

Glam! Exhibition

2013 Sony World Photography Awards - Open - Shortlist

Butch Anthony Art

Lolcats

Frozen Bubbles

Ireland was the first to go:

 

1

 / 11

SHARE THIS SLIDE

The Irish had a booming economy throughout the 1990s and 2000s, but much of it was built on massive levels of personal debt and an overheating housing market. So when the global financial crisis arrived, the Irish were particularly hard hit and the country rapidly fell into recession. As a result, the UK and wealthier members of the Eurozone have bought Irish government debt to help support the troubled Emerald Isle.

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