The Age Of Turbulence is Alan Greenspan’s incomparable reckoning with the contemporary financial world, channeled through his own experiences working in the command room of the global economy longer and with greater effect than any other single living figure. Following the arc of his remarkable life’s journey through his more than eighteen-year tenure as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board to the present, in the second half of The Age of Turbulence Dr. Greenspan embarks on a magnificent tour d’horizon of the global economy. The distillation of a life’s worth of wisdom and insight into an elegant expression of a coherent worldview, The Age of Turbulence will stand as Alan Greenspan’s personal and intellectual legacy.
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"This book chronicles the life of Alan Greenspan and how his background and philosophy brought him into being the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve. The book provides interesting perspective from a man who proclaims to distance himself from politics but is in fact very much involved in them. It is a biography, so it is probably very accurate and its an enjoyable read. My only criticism is that anyone expecting to find a review of economic theory as applied through the experiences of Mr. Greenspan, will not find it. The book is a narrative rather than an academic piece."
— Andrew (4 out of 5 stars)
" A lot of data. Greenspan trying to shift the blame of his 25 years as Fed chairman on to things "out of his control". Redundant, You really have to get into the mood for this one and again some. "
— Abdulaziz, 2/17/2014" as the economist said Not many surprises in this memoir-cum-essay except that it is an unexpectedly enjoyable read =) "
— Iponk, 2/8/2014" Combination of Greenspan's backstory and premise for beginning to understand global economic theory. I enjoyed it but Greenspan can get unecessarily wordy, really quick. I am an econ dork so I really took alot away from it. "
— Charles, 1/18/2014" I learned so much about US economic policy by reading this book. It was fascinating. "
— Jodi, 1/10/2014" Much better than I feared. Perhaps I had irrational expectations. "
— Chuck, 1/8/2014" Worth the read for Greenspan's balanced perspective and wisdom. "
— Amy, 12/31/2013" A graduate course on national/international finance and macroeconimics; makes it all a fascinating topic that one wants to understand better. "
— Dad, 12/29/2013" This book took me more than a month to read and at times I felt like it was over my head. I enjoyed learning more about the FED and how different policies relate to the economy's health. "
— Penny, 12/9/2013" The essays in the second half are eye openers. "
— Louis, 12/8/2013" This was an interesting commentary on Federal Reserve decisions over the last few decades and a great argument for pure capitalism vs. socialism, populism and communism. "
— Nathan, 11/26/2013" very fascinating quasi biography. "
— carl, 11/22/2013" This was a hard read. Much of the economics was completely over my head. What I really enjoyed was a sense of who Alan Greenspan really isatof the "Fed". "
— Bettye, 11/16/2013" An incredible history of US and world economics for the last 50 years, including what to expect in the rapidly changing future. "
— Trishtator, 10/23/2013" A jabbering dupe narrates some of his fascinating personal histories. "
— Pablo, 8/19/2013" Boring as hell, and like 650 pages. But he admits the war in Iraq was never about anything but oil. Which is nice. And he warns of America's decreased influence in the world in the coming years. And the need we have to become more energy independent. And he was good friends with Ayn Rand. "
— Daily, 3/16/2013" Not really my typical read. I found it interesting to try to get inside his head and let him explain his economic policy. I enjoyed his views of the previous administrations that he worked with. "
— Wade, 8/29/2012" Less than the technical stuff, I really liked reading Alan's life story. I found him quite interesting. "
— Holly, 7/15/2012" More interesting than I had thought. Don't like objectivism, could care less about the Federal Reserve, but the book was nonethless readable and interesting as a history of the time, esp. the Clinton years. "
— Patrick, 6/3/2012" Good to read what is happening inside the Federal Reserve and how powerful people talks... "
— Gilda, 3/10/2012" Great autobiography and a good insight into workings of free-market capitalism and prosperity; the role of the Federal Reserve, FOMC, and the Fed Chairman; insight to the collapse of the USSR's centrally-planned economy; and the results on Wall Street "irrational exuburance". "
— Kevin, 11/23/2011" Very educational. Having no background whatsoever in macroeconomics, this book explained a lot about how the world works. "
— Anna, 11/6/2011" Greenspan has lived a somewhat interesting life, and I was curious to know what he could say about his life including his "era" at the Fed. Very well written in my opinion. "
— Mariely, 10/10/2011" Interesting economic history, but does get a little long. I listened to this on a long drive. "
— Eric, 9/5/2011" The book was interesting and well-written. I don't think I agree with Greenspan's world view, especially in light of the current financial crisis, but the book is worth a read anyway. "
— David, 6/8/2011" Yeah, things didn't quite turn out in the end for Al. Interesting as a biography all the same. "
— Chris, 5/8/2011" Its somewhat long-winded, more-of-a-memoir attributes helped me put it down, but I picked it back up after Greenspan's congressional testimony in October 2008 to read some select chapters regarding Corporate Governance. "
— Arnie, 4/28/2011" At first the book was easy to read but the way it was written and the terminology was so foreign to me I had to look everything up over and over again. I don't have a head for economics but I did finish the book :) "
— Gabi, 4/28/2011" He talks a lot about his experience at the Federal Reserve and how it has evolved over the years. I would like to see him update this book on how some of his policies contributed to financial meltdown that occurred. "
— Chris, 4/6/2011" I have really loved reading this book. I have a much better understanding of macroeconomics and politics. I really enjoyed Greenspan's dispassionate narrative. "
— Thirsty, 2/9/2011" I like Alan and think he is underappreciated. A fun glimpse into his life and the fed... and overall life in Washington. Very impressive with how many world leaders he's met/worked with. "
— Adam, 2/6/2011" A couple of interesting points I remember:<br/><br/>1. Greenspan got his Ph.D degree in his fifties;<br/>2. He married to a journalist who was more than twenty years younger when he was 71;<br/>3. He is a good statistician, good at summarizing data and finding the pattern in the data. "
— Bo, 1/24/2011" Well, I enjoyed reading the history in the first half. But admitedly was a little dry during the second half. But what do I know. "
— Amy, 1/4/2011Alan Greenspan was born in 1926 and reared in the Washington Heights neighborhood of upper Manhattan. After studying the clarinet at Juilliard and working as a professional musician, he earned his BA, MA, and PhD in economics from New York University. In 1954 he cofounded the economic consulting firm Townsend-Greenspan & Co. From 1974 to 1977 Greenspan served as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Gerald Ford and in 1987 was appointed chairman of the Federal Reserve by President Ronald Reagan, a position he held until his retirement in 2006. In 2005 he was conferred the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. He is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Age of Turbulence.
Robertson Dean has played leading roles on and off Broadway and at dozens of regional theaters throughout the country. He has a BA from Tufts University and an MFA from Yale. His audiobook narration has garnered ten AudioFile Earphones Awards. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he works in film and television in addition to narrating.