 | Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com | “Whatever it takes”
That was Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s vow as the worst financial panic in more than fifty years gripped the world and he struggled to avoid the once unthinkable: a repeat of the Great Depression. Brilliant but temperamentally cautious, Bernanke researched and wrote about the causes of the Depression during his career as an academic. Then when thrust into a role as one of the most important people in the world, he was compelled to boldness by circumstances he never anticipated.
The president of the United States can respond instantly to a missile attack with America’s military might, but he cannot respond to a financial crisis with real money unless Congress acts. The Fed chairman can. Bernanke did. Under his leadership the Fed spearheaded the biggest government intervention in more than half a century and effectively became the fourth branch of government, with no direct accountability to the nation’s voters.
Believing that the economic catastrophe of the 1930s was largely the fault of a sluggish and wrongheaded Federal Reserve, Bernanke was determined not to repeat that epic mistake. In this penetrating look inside the most powerful economic institution in the world, David Wessel illuminates its opaque and undemocratic inner workings, while revealing how the Bernanke Fed led the desperate effort to prevent the world’s financial engine from grinding to a halt.
In piecing together the fullest, most authoritative, and alarming picture yet of this decisive moment in our nation’s history, In Fed We Trust answers the most critical questions. Among them:
• What did Bernanke and his team at the Fed know–and what took them by surprise? Which of their actions stretched–or even ripped through–the Fed’s legal authority? Which chilling numbers and indicators made them feel they had no choice?
• What were they thinking at pivotal moments during the race to sell Bear Stearns, the unsuccessful quest to save Lehman Brothers, and the virtual nationalization of AIG, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac? What were they saying to one another when, as Bernanke put it to Wessel: “We came very close to Depression 2.0”?
• How well did Bernanke, former treasury secretary Hank Paulson, and then New York Fed president Tim Geithner perform under intense pressure?
• How did the crisis prompt a reappraisal of the once-impregnable reputation of Alan Greenspan?
In Fed We Trust is a breathtaking and singularly perceptive look at a historic episode in American and global economic history. |
Average Customer Rating:    Another Excellent Contribution to the Literature on the Great Panic of 2008 IN FED WE TRUST, by David Wessel, in the third exceptional book I have read about the recent financial crisis. Unlike TOO BIG TO FAIL and STREET FIGHTERS, IN FED is a more analytical, non-chronological, intensely thoughtful analysis of events leading up to the crisis as well as the crisis itself. We also learn a good deal not only about Bernanke but his predecessor, Alan Greenspan, as well.
In addition, we learn a lot more about Timothy Geithner and Hank Paulson, the other two fascinating characters in this near-calamity.
Wessel is excellent at explaining the intricacies of the complicated, innovative--but ultimately poisonous--instruments that were partially to blame for the meltdown, as well as in translating "FedSpeak" so that the reader understands concepts like the Fed's discount window, how interest rates reverberate throughout the economy, and how there were fundamental changes in the very structure of our financial system that were difficult even for bankers, economists and the best-educated politicians to decipher. What the Chairman of the Fed doesn't say is sometimes as important as what he does say. Bernanke is under the microscope, and this book explains what kinds of pressures are involved in his job.
What I most appreciate about this book is that it does not endeavor to demonize any of the major participants. Wessel is for the most part sympathetic to the efforts and intentions of the major players, although he definitely pulls no punches when pointing out where mistakes were made. And there were plenty, to be sure. He eunerates them in considerable detail (including stupendous goofs by Greenspan).
As a reader, I came away the feeling this was a very balanced, thoughtful and fair book. It also avoids the tawdly sensationalism and hysterical finger-pointing that pockmarks some of the other analyses of what occurred. Nor does it feel rushed, the way Gasparino's SELLOUT feels, or that there is some intense axe to grind, as disturbs some other potentially valuable works on this subject. Unlike some other books, this one seems focused rather than sprawling, cohesive rather than needled together with thread to meet a publishing deadline.
This is an excellent book that strikes a nearly perfect balance between analysis and exposition. What it may lack in immediacy, it more than makes up for in depth.
pretty much unreadable I don't understand the target audience for this book. Why is an editor at the Wall Street Journal apparently writing for people who have never read a newspaper, never heard of the Fed, never had any investments? And when he insists on dumbing everything down as far as possible, how does he still frequently get basic finance and economics concepts so wrong (for example, he keeps referring to "tri-party repo" even though it quickly becomes clear he has no idea what the term means)? The writing style here is just awful too. What can be said about a writer who thinks he's clever by repeatedly referring to a group of major players as "The Four Musketeers." My middle school English teacher would have failed me if I submitted a paper that kept repeating such a ridiculous cliche. And he seems determined to get credit for naming this recession "The Great Panic," so he repeats the term on almost every page, even though the name is just silly for this recession, and as a result, of course, it hasn't caught on with anyone besides David Wessel. Spectacular! PERIOD!!! Spectacular! PERIOD!
Perhaps the best non-fiction financial thriller for 2009 from the mind of David Wessel, the Economics Editor of the Wall Street Journal. The essence of the book is captured in the following quote from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke:
"The only case for an independent central bank in a democracy is that it can take a longer view and do what is in the interest of the people in ways that elected politicians cannot." P. 271
Bernanke, Paulson, Geithner and Summers - Where did these guys come from? How do they think? How do/did (Paulson) they work with one another when faced with the most unimaginable economic crisis since the Great Depression? It's all here.
Why? Why did the U.S. and the global economy fall into this crater. Why? Why has the Federal Reserve, The U.S. Treasury and the White House Economic Advisory team implemented the measures they have - thus far?
The manner in which this work evolves makes is a contribution that can be devoured by a broad audience. It is absolutely essential reading for U.S. citizens who yearn for a vastly more informed perspective on the questions posed above.
Spectacular! PERIOD!
Excellent examination of the Fed during the Great Panic Having watch the Great Panic (as Wessel calls it) as it unfolded and hearing all the business TV talk that went along with it, I've been waiting to read all the inevitable books that I knew would be coming out. This is the first one I picked because of the power and influence the Fed possesses. After reading this, I realize that very few people really knew how much power the Fed actually does, thankfully, possess. And while I knew already that what I see on TV isn't necessarily representative of what is going on behind closed doors, this book just helped cement that knowledge.
If you are looking for an overall examination of the crisis and it's players, this isn't the book for you. There probably won't be a book for you because this crisis involved multiple players in both the private, public, and quasi-public sectors that an overall book end up being thousands of pages long.
What this book does do is give an excellent examination of one the major institutions involved in the crises, how the people there dealt with what they saw and thought was happening, and how inadequate those assessments were. You get a blow by blow of the behind the scenes conversations, debates and theories on how the Fed should react. You see the major players - Bernanke, Paulson, Geithner, and Warsh - and how the interact with each other and the public. Wessel also gives some details on how the other Fed Presidents and Governor's reacted to what Big Big and his compatriots were doing.
Wessel also gives some history into the Fed such as why it was formed, what powers it has been given and taken away over the years, and exactly how the Fed completely screwed up in 1929.
I highly recommend this book. If you know alot about the Fed you'll get to see it in action from a behind-the-scenes point of view. If you don't know alot about the Fed, you'll get a great education into this institution and just how important it is to the US economy. Behind closed doors Excellent book relaying what when on in the background while attempting to alter this financial crisis. I highly recommend this book. |  |
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