The number of pages now published on the global financial crisis is immense, and will be larger still when we have the Greek default and its dire consequences for the Euro to chew over as well.

Meanwhile, here is a slender volume which focuses on the most fundamental issues. The Squam Lake Report is the work of 15 of the US's most distinguished and simultaneously non-partisan, open-minded financial economists. They include for example behavioural finance expert Robert Shiller and Raghuram Rajan (who issued early warnings of impending crisis). All have experience of the world of practical policy.

The report starts by analysing the fundamental conditions which led to the crash. It pinpoints four: conflicts of interest within banking (under the spotlight in the case against Goldman Sachs brought by the SEC); an absence of bankruptcy procedures in the financial sector; inadequate regulation in that it focused only on individual firms, not systemic risk; and the scope for bank runs, not prevented by retail deposit protection.

There are quite a number of specific recommendations, derived from two basic principles. The first is the need for systemic as well as firm-by-firm regulation, such as capital requirements linked to the degree of risk a large financial institution poses for the rest of the system.

The second principle is the need to internalize the costs of failure so that they won't in future be landed on taxpayers in bailouts. The creation of bankruptcy and resolution procedures is a central concern.

For such a short book, there's a lot of detail as well. For example, one chapter suggests limitations on pay – not the level of bankers' bonuses, but the structure (deferring bonuses for some years). Another looks at the need to protect retirement savings invested in financial markets, as well as protecting retail depositors. I think it underplays the lack of competition in the financial sector and also overlooks the arguments about lobbying power made by Simon Johnson (see his new book 13 Bankers) – perhaps overstated, but worth consideration.

Still, it's packed with useful stuff. For me it highlights an important point, which is that there's no single silver bullet solution to the problems in the financial system exposed by the crisis. These are very appealing: just force banks to choose whether they're narrow banks or casino banks; just ban or tax bonuses. Unfortunately, picking our way through the debris of the global financial system will be more complicated. But The Squam Lake Report has a lot of good ideas about how to go about it.