Wiley is rushing out CHAIN OF BLAME: How Wall Street Caused the Mortgage and Credit Crisis. The book goes on sale July 15th and is written by financial reporters Paul Muolo and Mathew Padilla.

The authors reveal in gory detail just what went wrong at Countrywide and how so many chuckleheads made so many bone-headed decisions. (You can decide who the chuckleheads are – but - some of them have lost billions of dollars, some have lost their jobs and some face criminal charges)

Angelo Mozilo, Countrywide’s Chief and the book’s “star” worked with the authors up until a point (duh!). Muolo says “The Tan One” was collaborating with him until Bank of America agreed to buy Countrywide then, according to Muolo, Mozilo said he was fed up with the media coverage of the company. (Note to self: it’s always the media’s fault!)

The authors write about the famous “FOA’s” lists kept by lenders. (For those of you who haven’t read a newspaper in the last month “FOA’s” are Friends of Angelo’s and they reportedly got friendly treatment and deals….sheesh, read a paper for goodness sakes!)

The book is the first to chronicle the entire mess and the publishers have their fingers crossed hoping it will be the next “Den of Thieves” or “Liar’s Poker.” Of course we won’t know that for a while, but one thing is certain; they nailed the title ‘cause as you know, blame is the new black.

New deals that caught my eye from PublishersMarketplace.com:

A Belated Birthday Present? Two top guns from The Deal are preparing to offer a behind the scenes look at The Blackstone Group. And of course no BTS would be complete without a good long look (and photos I hope) of Stephen Schwarzman and Hamilton “Tony” James. The authors, David Carey and John Morris plan to write up in BLACKSTONE AND THE RISE OF PRIVATE EQUITY how the Group picks its investments, manages its companies and – and here’s the juicy stuff – their survival guide while Rome is burning. The book is due out in the Fall of 2009.

Rich And About To Get Even Richer. The very Rich, Happy and Fabulous Marianna Olszewski has just signed a deal to write “RICH, HAPPY & FABULOUS: 9 Easy and Effective Tools for Women To Create Abundance, Power and Joy”. The book is due out in the Spring of 2009. Marianna is the founder and CEO of Madison Financial Management. For a sneak peak at what the book might offer, check out her website: www.richhappyandfabulous.com.