THE THRIFT DEBACLE <i> by Ned Eichler (University of California Press: $15.95; 116 pp.)</i>

“The seeming complexities of the financial world, which are exaggerated by insider’s jargon, have a lot to do with the public’s--and Congress’--boredom with the subject. But as Ned Eichler points out in “The Thrift Debacle,” it behooves the taxpayer to pay attention because billions of dollars in tax money are being thrown down a black hole to pay for the ongoing follies of greedy gamblers and inept bank regulators.”