The fall of 2008 witnessed the greatest financial upheaval since the Great Crash of 1929 and found the United States in its deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression. It was a “perfect storm” in which all sectors of our economy participated and all sectors exhibited reckless behavior. It began with the creation of the housing bubble fueled by speculation, over-spending by home buyers, excessive acquisition of household debt, the government’s encouragement of home ownership and the relaxation of lending standards. The problems were then compounded by a failure to recognize risk in the housing market, the growth of systemic risk, excessive speculation by financial institutions, development of financial instruments that few if any fully understood the emergence of “shadow banks” and the failure of governmental regulation. When the bubble burst the entire system came crashing down with disastrous effects that continue to plague the world’s economies in 2011. This paper traces the origins of these monumental events, chronicles the events during that fateful fall and develops a number of lessons which should be taught to our students.