In the aftermath of the recent financial crisis, the federal government has pursued regulatory reforms, including proposals to monitor systemic risk. However, there is much debate about how this might be accomplished and whether it is even possible. A key issue is determining the appropriate trade-offs from a policy and social welfare perspective. One of the first books to address the challenges of measuring risk, "Quantifying Systemic Risk" looks at the means of measuring systemic risk and explores alternative approaches. Among the topics discussed are the challenges of tying regulations to specific quantitative measures and the distinction between the shocks that start a crisis and the mechanisms that enable it to grow.