The dramatic rise in mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures has had major adverse consequences for banks and financial markets around the globe. Two recent books examine the causes and effects of the ongoing real-estate crisis, ranging from the politics that set the stage for the housing boom to the personal toll it has inflicted on American families.

In "Busted," New York Times reporter Edmund L. Andrews chronicles the painful unraveling of his second marriage as he and wife, Patty, came to the dark edge of foreclosure when their variable-rate mortgage payments grew beyond their ability to pay.

Theirs was a classic case of a family that bought more house than it could afford and, as values dropped, found themselves owing the bank more than the home was worth.

Andrews and his new wife became the proud owners of a four-bedroom home in Silver Spring, Md., for $460,000. His $130,000 salary was easy to document, but his actual income after alimony and child support was too low to qualify for a standard mortgage. So he did what any lovesick national economics reporter might do.

He signed his name on the same type of toxic home loan he had written several articles warning the public about. Then, it all came down to sleepless nights worrying about paying the household bills, not to mention the unexpected expenses that always seem to come at the worst time.

He and his wife grew resentful toward each other as the home that was once paradise became their prison. While Andrews wrote "Busted" in February 2009, he said he was four months behind in his mortgage and his marriage was falling apart.

With a vivid writing style, Andrews skillfully weaves the unhappy details of his own financial saga inside his reporter's view of the housing crisis including his interviews with former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and the current one, Ben Bernake.

"The Housing Boom and Bust," by economist Thomas Sowell, offers a more academic analysis of what caused the housing market to collapse.

While the stereotypical villains have been Wall Street bankers, mortgage brokers, speculating flippers and ,greedy home buyers, Sowell takes aim at the government.

He writes that the government was not passively inefficient, but was actively zealous in promoting risky mortgage lending practices.

The Bush administration urged Congress to pass laws that permitted zero-down-payment loans to low-income Americans with the idea that those who couldn't save for a down payment shouldn't be deprived of owning a home. Traditional lending standards were relaxed to the point where borrowers had no equity stake in the home.

But local governments also contributed to the rapid price escalation by imposing restrictions on land use and other impediments that raised the cost of construction and drove up the cost of houses and apartment rents.

Those cities with skyrocketing home appreciation also had the highest land prices. Municipal governments across the country placed artificial restrictions on the supply of residential land which in turn created an artificial scarcity that drove up land costs.

The idea that a home is always a safe investment has become a hellish footnote to early 21st-century history.

This crisis will rival the Great Depression in terms of its economic ruin and will redefine the elusive journey known as the American Dream.