Bubble Man: Alan Greenspan and the Missing 7 Trillion Dollars

by Peter Hartcher

The destructive legacy of the most powerful man in the world: Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve.



In this eye-opening account, Peter Hartcher reexamines the achievements of Alan Greenspan, the man who presided over the 1990s stock-market bubbleperhaps the biggest speculative frenzy in historyand walked away when it came crashing down, with his reputation apparently unscathed. The U.S. economy is still struggling with the fallout from Greenspan's tenure, which includes a bubble in housing prices, a rocky recovery, and a vast federal deficit. His mistakes live on, as does the question of what to do about bubbles.



Hartcher's careful investigation of the most financially expensive event in American history results in a gripping tale of failed leadership, excess, and the bizarre politics behind the world's most powerful economy.

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Biography, Business

256 pages, Hardcover

Published May 17, 2006

About the author

Peter Hartcher is the political and international editor of The Sydney Morning Herald. His books include Bubble Man, The Sweet Spot and To the Bitter End. His first Quarterly Essay, Bipolar Nation, was published in 2007.

Reviews

[barbara stanisz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an eye opener. Well written and chock full of things that I had no idea of. I had a vaguely positive view of alan greenspan and finished the book feeling that he was absolutely clueless and only cared about perserving his own legacy in his own little mind. talk about fiddling while Rome burned-this is how I now feel about grteenspan's tenure at the Fed. I certainly learned a lot about our financial systems and regret that it has taken most of my life to learn these kinds of things. I would say that this is something that we should teach in school except that the public school system is in such a mess. The book was well worth reading and enlightening if a bit dry.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everybody was going on and on about how brilliant the man was, how he was Mr. BIG! He can do no wrong! I recall The Nation wrote an article about how his approach to the market is going to fail the working class in the next decade. Of course no one wanted to believe the market could fail. All that deregulation was supposed to save us, right?

Hartcher does not put all the blame for the problems of the market on Greenspan's shoulders. He simply points out what should be obvious. If a casual comment from one man (Greenspan) can cause the market to tailspin, both the man and the market may be seriously flawed.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book. It is good to have an author that is not from the US talk about the US Fed bank. It is very interesting how he talks about Greenspan and the start of the bubble that popped in 2000. He brings up signs of another bubble that was starting when the book was written 2006. Had this book been written later I am sure he would have talked more about the crisis that the world has now entered. It really gives some insight into what is happening and how the Fed can help minimize the effects of a bubble.

[Tommy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book in very common language that explains the economy and the role of the Fed Reserve, in general and Alan Greenspan in particular. It specifically explains the dotcom bubble that led to the housing bubble. I intended to read this last year, but didn't get to it. Honestly, I expected it to be very dry and technical, so I wasn't looking forward to reading it, but I'm really glad I did because I enjoyed it and learned much from it. I only wish Hartcher would write a sequel following the tenure of Ben Bernake to date.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bubble Man by Peter Hartcher is a great book if a person wants to understand the driving forces of our current recession. It is eye opening to see that Alan Greenspan's monetary policy was mostly aimed at pleasing the political powers in charge of Congress and the White House. The writing style may be dry but the message of fiscal responsibility is timely.

[PRINCE MUSLEH ANSI]

THE SACRIFICE OF POOR SOULS FOR OIL POLICIES.

[Kristie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read in the midst of the financial crisis.