Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9379 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-17
• Released on: 2007-09-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 544 pages

Synopsis
The most remarkable thing that happened to the world economy after 9/11 was ...nothing. What would have once meant a crippling shock to the system was absorbed astonishingly quickly, partly due to the efforts of the then Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Alan Greenspan. The post 9/11 global economy is a new and turbulent system - vastly more flexible, resilient, open, self-directing, and fast-changing than it was even twenty years ago. "The Age of Turbulence" is an incomparable reckoning with the nature of this new world - how we got here, what we're living through, and what lies over the horizon, for good or ill, channelled through Greenspan's own experiences working in the command room of the global economy for longer and with greater effect than any other single living figure.He will share the story of his life to convey to readers the full flavour of the extraordinary years he has experienced and shaped, taking full measure of the individuals who made strong impressions on him, including every US President from Nixon to George W. Bush, and Prime Ministers Thatcher and Blair, and the great crises and challenges that they faced.

His other goal is to draw readers along the same learning curve he followed, so they have a grasp of his own clear-sighted and hard-won understanding of the dynamics that drive world events. 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.

From the Publisher
Shortlisted for the Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award 2007

Customer Reviews

A Peek behind the Curtain!
The Age of Turbulence is engaging, fascinating and educational. Watching Greenspan on television in the Senate Sub Committee meetings was interesting...but tough to know who the man behind the curtain was. This book opens the curtain and lets us see a motivated individual who is confident of his skills, but doesn't flaunt it.

In the first part of the book Alan Greenspan does an exceptional job of explaining what makes him tick and provides a peek into the world of the Fed Chairman. In the second part he talks about various parts of the world and spices it with a bit of crystal balling.

It is clear that Alan Greeenspan has strong Critical Thinking and Decision Making skills. He has been succeeded in many of his ventures. As with all humans he has his weaknesses as well. His honest candor in the book made it refreshing and useful.

There are some great topics in the book that let us get to know Alan Greenspan. Some of these are: City Kid, The Making of an Economist, Black Monday, The Fall of the Wall, Irrational Exuberance, Millennium Fever and Downturn. The second half of the book has equally excellent subjects: The Choices that Await China, The Tigers and the Elephant, Russia's Sharp Elbows, Latin America and Populism, Globalization and Regulation, The World Retires, Bit Can it Afford To, the Delphic Future an more.

Overall the book is insightful and a great read!

One final thought: I found that Age of Turbulence coupled with Revolutionary Wealth by Alvin and Heidi Toffler help to provide a look into possible futures and what we can do to make a great one for ourselves!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Panoramic
For any global citizen looking to make a difference in any corporate or institutional context, this is a must-read, especially for students of economics.

While the bias of coverage is surely US centric, the author examines key global phenomena such as: the epoch making shift of about half the world from behind the walls of centrally planned economies to competitive free markets, the shifting age profile of the global population, the socio-economic implications of a terrorism-threatened landscape, the dilemmas associated with corporate governance, and the 'long term energy squeeze'.

What is missing is the impending dilemma of the petro-dollar vis-a-vis the petro-euro, not surprisingly

Interesting previews strewn aplenty, to what goes on in corridors of global power, for those who are interested.

And of course, the Ayn Rand connection was unknown to me before reading this!

Life, Love, Biography, History, Economics
"The Age of Turbulence" is part biography and part economic treatise. In the first part, Greenspan tells the saga of his youth, education and gradual professional development. The narrative of his relationships with Ayn Rand, Arthur Burns and others introduces the reader to the concept of how a familiarity with innovative thinkers can direct a life and career. As a business major in college, I find the story of the life work of an economist to be fascinating. A reader with less interest in business may find it to be boring. Greenspan then progresses into the memoirs of his service on the Council of Economic Advisors and as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. As an amateur historian, I became engrossed in his memories of service with presidents from Nixon to George W. Bush. His intimate analysis of them, including his characterization of Nixon and Clinton as the smartest with whom he worked, is instructive. His narratives on recent history from an economic viewpoint present the issues with which we have lived in a unique perspective. His discrete stories about his relationships with his mother and wife, Andrea Mitchell, keep the work grounded in real life.

The latter parts of the book consist of Greenspan's views on the economic conditions and prospects in nations and regions of the world followed by his analyses of anticipated opportunities and challenges expected to confront the U.S. economy in the foreseeable future.

This book is well written. The biographical portions will be fascinating to anyone with an interest in recent national and economic history. This section may justify the purchase in itself. Elements of the later sections dealing with economics will require a greater than common understanding of economic theory and methods to keep the eyes from glazing over. Even if you do not finish the book, the early portions will make the effort worthwhile.