Author: David Wessel
Genre: Financial Non-fiction
Pages (words): 336 (N/A)
Readability: N/A
Rating (out of 5 stars): ***1/2
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: A narrative of the steps the Fed and the Treasury took to (attempt) to stem the tide of the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression. Wessel gives the inside scoop on just what was happening inside the Fed as many of these major decisions were being made, and the rationale behind them.
Thoughts: I was surprised at how good this book was. The crisis isn't even over, and Wessel has really put together an impressive account of many of the major events that took place, include interviews with many key people which help give a larger understanding of what was going on behind closed doors while the financial system teetered on the brink. I think it is a pretty fair account as well; he's not overly critical but doesn't heap praise on the main actors either. In the end, Bernanke and Geithner come out looking pretty good, and, given the circumstances, I think they did as well as anyone could have expected them to. If anyone is looking for a non-technical description of just what went wrong over the past two years, and what the government (especially the Fed) did to try to stop it, this is the book to read.
Disclaimer: None.
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