Last night journalists and news executives gathered at McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant to celebrate the release of a new book by CNN’s Chief Business Correspondent, Ali Velshi.

Composed in two weeks during 2008′s financial meltdown, the book is entitled, Gimme My Money Back: Your Guide to Beating the Financial Crisis. In a video interview with GalleyCat, Velshi urged publishers to explain the crisis to Americans in simple terms.

“There are people buying financial books today that weren’t buying financial books in the past. You can’t scare them away,” he explained. “It’s too easy for smart people to confuse new readers. You have to keep it accessible.” Midway through the interview, CNN’s Executive Vice President Ken Jautz patted his star reporter on the back. “We’ve been talking about his book for years. We just needed the perfect hook.”

Later in the night, Velshi fielded financial questions from Nick Ragone, an author and Senior Vice President at Ketchum. When asked if his book would conflict with other popular experts like Suze Orman or Dave Ramsey, Velshi concluded: “I don’t think these are competing messages. I think right now everybody needs to take responsibility for their financial decisions.”