Alan Greenspan
The Age of Turbulence
Adventures in a New World
Penguin Press, 2008
What's inside?
This illuminating autobiography gives the inside perspective of a powerful Fed chairmanâs tumultuous times.
Recommendation
In the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, itâs easy to forget that former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan presided over a tumultuous economic period that was both âirrationally exuberantâ (these are his own words) and painfully transformative. His autobiography predates the crisis â even the later editionâs 2008 epilogue precedes the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy â so any current reader will likely view Greenspanâs career through that crystal. Yet his thorough, expansive history of US politics and economics from the end of World War II to the turn of the 21st century, including his private thoughts on working with six US presidents, is a compelling illumination of how the nation evolved. His command of economic history, facts and figures is impressive, but he is much more than a numbers nerd: He grew up a fatherless only child, once made a living playing saxophone in jazz bands and married a famous television journalist, none of which kept him from being at one time âthe second-most powerful man in the worldâ and its âmost powerful banker.â While the bookâs first half engagingly reveals Greenspanâs personal journey, the second half â his meditations on global issues â bogs down in plodding econospeak. Nonetheless, getAbstract warmly recommends this instructive personal and national saga to those interested in economic history and contemporary issues.
Summary
About the Author
Alan Greenspan served as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board from 1987 to 2006. He now heads Greenspan Associates, an economic consulting firm.
Comment on this summary