Did Wall Street cause the mess we are in? Should Washington place stronger regulations on the financial industry? Can we lower unemployment rates by controlling the free market? Answer: no. Not only is free-market capitalism good for the economy, it is our only hope for recovery. As the nation's longest-serving CEO of one of the top 25 financial institutions, John Allison has had a unique inside view of the events leading up to the financial crisis. He has seen what the government has done to the real estate market and how government regulations only make matters worse. Now in this controversial wake-up call of a book, he has given us a solution.

With shrewd insight, alarming insider details, and practical advice for today's leaders, this electrifying analysis is nothing less than a call to arms for a nation on the brink. In the end, you'll understand why it's so important to put the "free" back into free market.

About the author: John Allison is the former chairman and CEO of Branch Banking & Trust Corporation. He currently serves as a distinguished professor at the Wake Forest University School of Business. He is an inductee of the North Carolina Business Hall of Fame.