Quique Balderas Balderas itibaren Le Monastère, Fransa
Four stars based solely on the essay, "Identifying with Your Parents or The Return of the King".
I slogged through most of the 700 dense pages (not including appendix). This could have easily been two books: one about the history of the Federal Reserve and its place in the financial and political history of the US, and another book about the story of Paul Volker as head of the Fed during the Carter and Reagan years. For the most part this is a fascinating book especially in light of the current financial situation. The really intriguing aspect of the book is the author's assertion that the Fed is a parallel political power that can determine the economic climate and direction of the country in spite of what our elected bodies and presidents want. The reason for this is the almost total lack of knowledge of economics and the workings of the Fed by the general public and, more importantly, almost all elected officials. He uses the Volker scenario to drive this point home.