Product Description

No matter who you are-investor, trader, homeowner, 401(k) holder, or CEO-you are bound to feel the impact of Alan Greenspan's “Age of Ignorance” for years to come.

According to MSN Money columnist William A. Fleckenstein, Greenspan's nearly 19-year career as Federal Reserve Chairman is even worse than anyone imagined. Labeled “Mr. Bubble” by the New York Times, Greenspan was nothing less than a serial bubble blower with a long history of bad decision-making. His famous “Greenspan Put” fueled the perception of a Goldilocks economy-but, as this explosive exposé reveals, the bear has finally caught up with Goldilocks.

Using transcripts of Greenspan's FOMC meetings as well as testimony before Congress, this eye-opening book delivers a timeline of his most devastating mistakes and weaves together the connection between every economic calamity of the past 19 years:

• The stock market crash of 1987
• The Savings & Loan crisis
• The collapse of Long Term Capital Management
• The tech bubble of 2000
• The feared Y2K disaster
• The credit bubble and real estate crisis of 2007

Fleckenstein explains just how far-reaching Greenspan's mess has been flung, and presents damning evidence that contradicts the former Fed chief's public naiveté concerning shifts in the market and economy. He also points to a disturbing fact, that throughout his career, Greenspan not only made costly mistakes, but made the same ones-over and over again. And not only was he never able to recognize or admit to those mistakes, he constantly rewrote his own history to justify them.

Greenspan's Bubbles offers a lock-stock-and-barrel portrait of a flawed but fascinating man whose words and actions have led a whole generation astray, and whose legacy will continue to challenge us in the years ahead.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15373 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 208 pages

From the Back Cover

PRAISE FOR

GREENSPAN'S BUBBLES

“After reading Greenspan's Bubbles you will have no respect for the Fed! It's a must-read…in it, the authors demystify the belief that the Fed 'solves' problems when, in fact, it is directly responsible for a colossal destruction of wealth of the median household and of the U.S. currency through its irresponsible monetary policies.”-Marc Faber, editor of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report

“Greenspan for Mt. Rushmore? Not if Bill Fleckenstein has anything to say about it.”-James Grant, editor of Grant's Interest Rate Observer

“In his typically engaging style, Bill Fleckenstein pops the Greenspan bubble…presenting compelling and convincing evidence that the former Fed chief got us into this mess...”-Herb Greenberg, Senior Columnist, MarketWatch.com

About the Author

William A. Fleckenstein is president of Fleckenstein Capital, a money management firm based in Seattle. He writes a daily Market Rap column for his Web site, Fleckensteincapital.com, as well as the popular column Contrarian Chronicles for MSN Money.

Frederick Sheehan is a former Director of Asset Allocation Services at John Hancock Financial Services. He has written for Marc Faber's Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, Whiskey & Gunpowder, and the Prudent Bear Web sites.

Customer Reviews

Why is the country in this mess?
Why is this country in this mess? Thanks to you, Mr. Greenspan. Just read Fred Sheehan and Bill
Flekenstein's book. It's is written well and explains why... Greenspan.

Masterly of Sir Alan
Alan Greenspan, called The Maestro, has almost singlehandedly created the two largest financial bubbles in world history. Federal Reserve is the worlds biggest central bank, and should have understood the nature of the both the it-bubble in the last half of the nineties, and the housing bubble in the naughties. But it didn't.

Instead, Alan Greenspan has been the cheerleader for both bubbles. He consistently cut rates when the stock market was in turmoil. He was bragging about the productivity gains in the 90s (which turned out to be a scam). He kept on insisting that it is impossible to know if there is a bubble in a market, before it is pricked. During the housing bubble, Greenspan was talking about the benefits of securitizing mortgages. Even today, Greenspans biggest worry is that the crisis will lead to tighter regulation of the financial industry.

The book is short, to the point, and well researched. It is extremely timely. Fleckenstein is deeply engaged, and it would do him well to give Greenspan a nudge from time to time. Still, it is well worth reading.

Fist Fight?
The book appears to contain a few things of substance, but you have to look so hard to get past the vitriole it's almost not worth the effort. I'm not a big Greenspan fan and certainly not his apologist, but Fleckenstein appears to be pissed beyond reason. I get the impression Fleckenstein thought he should have been appointed Fed Chair and hasn't gotten over it yet. If Greenspan was as imbecilic as Fleckenstein tries to paint him, he wouldn't be able to find his way to the men's room without a GPS. Come on Fleck, get over it. You've got something to say. Could you possibly say it without all the name calling and innuendo. Why not take Greenspan out on the playground and you two can duke it out? Take a deep breath. Count to ten. Have a glass of wine.