Maestro: Greenspan’s Fed and the American Boom (Greenspan, Alan)

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In eight Tuesdays each year, Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan convenes a small committee to set the short-term interest rate that can move through the American and world economies like an electric jolt. As much as any, the committee’s actions determine the economic well-being of every American. The availability of money for business or consumer loans, mortgages, job creation and overall national economic growth flows from those decisions. Perhaps the last Washington secret is how the Federal Reserve and its enigmatic chairman, Alan Greenspan, operate. In Maestro, Bob Woodward takes you inside the Fed and Greenspan’s thinking. We listen to the Fed’s internal debates as the American economy is pushed into a historic 10-year expansion while the world economy lurches from financial crisis to financial crisis. Greenspan plays a sometimes subtle, sometimes blunt behind-the-scenes role. He appears in Maestro up close as never before — alternately nervous and calm, plunging into mathematics one moment and politics the next, skeptical, dispassionate, always struggling — often alone.
Maestro traces a fascinating intellectual journey as Greenspan, an old-school anti-inflation hawk of the traditional economy, is among the first to realize the potential in the modern, high-productivity new economy — the foundation of the current American boom. Woodward’s account of the Greenspan years is a remarkable portrait of a man who has become the symbol of American economic preeminence.

Our Top Reviews

Reviewer: Peter
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Makes Greenspan an interesting figure
Review: I read all of Bob Woodward’s books as I find him to be an author who can take a fairly academic topic (e.g. the work that Greenspan did) and make it into a read that is interesting and informative.Woodward’s strength is his ability to get the inside gossip from his myriad of unnamed sources. They sometimes dish the dirt on each other which makes it an amusing read at times and one wonders the effect it has on them when they read about themselves in his books. I am sure there are some strained relationships as a result.In this book, Woodward looks at Alan Greenspan and his work up until 2001. There is a fair amount of economic discussion in the book but nothing in the depth to make non-economists eyes glaze over. Greenspan appears to be an enigmatic figure who was quite knowledgeable in how to play politics and the press.Overall, I think this was a very good book and as always with Bob Woodward, worth your time to read.

Reviewer: Hugo Chu
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Interesting book!
Review: I read this book back in 2003. I did not have yet a good understanding of many issues related to economics or monetary policy. I am reading it again and thankfully it remains very interesting. Besides giving you a good idea of how monetary policy is conducted by the FED you learn a little bit of politics and this very important economist.

Reviewer: laxclimblive15
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Maestro: Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve
Review: I bought this book because it was required reading for my AP Macroeconomics class. I felt like it was going to be a drag to read because I had to and was going to have a test on it. However, I loved it!! It’s extremely interesting and wonderfully written. Even if you aren’t well-versed in economics, it is written for anyone to understand. It’s easy to follow and I aced the test!!I really enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who is interesting in learning more abut Alan Greenspan, our federal reserve system, macroeconomic monetary policy, or just the way that our economy works in general!!I was extremely pleased with this fantastic read!! However, I recommend not reading it on Kindle if you would be interested in the photos in the printed version!

Reviewer: Dextra L. Suggs
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: “The nurturing of capital and property ownership.”
Review: The cozy relationship of the politically well connected and the corporate elite always makes for interesting reading. There are some interesting tidbits in this book; the familiar names of the politically entrenched and the precarious state of our nation’s economic machinations, Greenspan’s appreciation for President Clinton’s unparalleled intelligence and so on. But I found most fascinating was the depiction of the D.C. cocktail circuit. I may be crazy, but the undercurrent seemed particularly southern. Maybe that’s why we’ve had so many southern presidents. Who said the south would never rise again? Married to that uncanny scent of southern aristocracy is the uber-effectiveness of northern Ivy League ambition (Ivy League PhD’s who also have Ivy League law degrees).Added to that stew is the invisible cadre of over-educated, devilishly ambitious entrenched offspring of well established families with a tradition of success and WHEW; count yourself out of the process! Politics – or should I say power – really does make for strange bed fellows. No wonder we can never understand the politics of our nation. I got the impression that this nation belongs to a distinct class of well educated, well read, well informed, securely entrenched and invisible class of moneyed families living and thriving comfortably insulated from the rest of the nation. And frankly, it’s a place we should all strive to be and I’m putting on my thinking cap as we speak. Although I should’ve guessed it, I didn’t know Alan Greenspan, and his longtime, classy arm-charm, Andrea Mitchell, were such savvy political operatives on the cocktail circuit. Many reviewers panned the book as boring, but I thought it was rich with subtle hints that if properly investigated led to a richer understanding of the nation’s finances and future. Expect to do a little residual research after reading this one. It will be worth it.

Reviewer: Donald C. Wunsch II
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Depends on what you want this for….
Review: Do you want to be generally more knowledgeable about one of our nation’s most powerful men? Want to understand better how the Fed’s decisions affect the economy? Want to appreciate the always-delicate interplay between politics and monetary policy? How about to enjoy reading about economics without being put to sleep? If that’s what you’re looking for, this book is for you. It doesn’t provide ammunition for either side of the political debate, for the most part. The most intriguing thing about this book is perhaps its timing. It’s mostly a collection of extended anecdotes about situations Greenspan handled successfully. Will the current situation be an addition or an exception to the tales in Maestro? As of March 01, it’s too early to tell ….

Reviewer: Brianna S.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Maestro? Absolutely.
Review: Overall good read. Book ends before housing crisis (2008) so its a little blind but overall very informative of Chairman Greenspan’s tenure.

Reviewer: focusreader
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: fun to read
Review: well written, fun to read.

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Worth Reading
Review: Slightly repetitive actions by Greenspan, but a book that is well written and holds your interest

Reviewer: TeaLover
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Still one of the best books on Greenspan, written in very accessible style.

Reviewer: ごうすと
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: 市場では神様のように尊重されているグリーンスパン議長の素顔に触れた作品。意外なことに、グリーンスパン議長は、ジュリアード音楽院を出ていて、一時は音楽家を目指していたのが、金融界に転身したという過去があった。また、FRB議長就任当初は、なかなか現在のような神秘性は認められず、政策を承認させるのに一苦労していた姿も描かれている。ブッシュ政権からクリントン政権までのアメリカ金融政策の決定過程の裏側も詳細に記されているので、市場関係者にも興味深い一冊だと思われる。

Price effective as of Apr 06, 2025 19:51:15 UTC

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