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Rating:  Summary: Words move Mountains Review: A single man's words can move the greatest nation in the world. Sicilia and Cruikshank portray Alan Greenspan as one of the most powerful men in society today, while also showing him as a simple and honest man. The power held by Greenspan's words not only move a nation, they move the world as he moves the dollar. The book itself is a decent enough review of Alan Greenspan's economic career, from its inception at Townsend-Greenspan & Co. until his illustrious tenure as chairman of the Fed. Complete with speeches Greenspan himself gave, along with commentary by Sicilia and Cruikshank, this book helps to explain the economic trends of the past decade and put into perspective the exact role that Greenspan played in those trends. Honestly, the book itself became a little tired. The format of teh book rarely changes, and, as a high school student, I found myself scrying for ways to keep myself awake during the reading. Recommended if you really like economics or Alan Greenspan.
Rating:  Summary: Words move Mountains Review: A single man's words can move the greatest nation in the world. Sicilia and Cruikshank portray Alan Greenspan as one of the most powerful men in society today, while also showing him as a simple and honest man. The power held by Greenspan's words not only move a nation, they move the world as he moves the dollar. The book itself is a decent enough review of Alan Greenspan's economic career, from its inception at Townsend-Greenspan & Co. until his illustrious tenure as chairman of the Fed. Complete with speeches Greenspan himself gave, along with commentary by Sicilia and Cruikshank, this book helps to explain the economic trends of the past decade and put into perspective the exact role that Greenspan played in those trends. Honestly, the book itself became a little tired. The format of teh book rarely changes, and, as a high school student, I found myself scrying for ways to keep myself awake during the reading. Recommended if you really like economics or Alan Greenspan.
Rating:  Summary: A Solid Effort! Review: David B. Sicilia and Jeffrey L. Cruikshank study how U.S. Federal Reserve Bank chairman Alan Greenspan interprets market forces. They explore how Greenspan's thoughts and actions affect markets. Knowing Greenspan's impact can be useful if you want to capitalize on market movements. The book examines the meaning - for investors - of Greenspan's relationship with the markets. Along the way, the reader gets a whirlwind tour of the U.S. and world economies. The take-home message repeated again and again - Greenspan and interest rates can move markets - is something savvy investors might already know. We [...] recommend this book to any investor who wants to understand the world economy better and to those who are interested, as investors or observers, in Greenspan's impact on the markets.
Rating:  Summary: The benefit of hindsight Review: It is a recognised fact that statements from the Fed Chairman moves markets. Cruikshank and Sicilia here attempts to interpret the often incoherent mutterings of Mr Greenspan and hence throw light on his intended policy maneuvers. Which is all well and good. However, given the ambivalence of some of his statements, and the multitude of FedWatchers out there, how one interprets his statement may be different from what the market reads it as. With the benefits of hindsight, analysis of Mr Greenspan's statements will always be easier. I feel that at the end of the day, the markets ultimately decides which way they would like to interpret his speech. The whole book is filled with quotes by Greenspan and commentaries by the authors on what these quotes actually mean. I feel however that the authors chose to emphasize on those quotes which actaully drove the market one way and downplay those that had less impact on the markets. It's a veritable attempt by the authors here, but it was a real effort for me to finish the book.
Rating:  Summary: Not as good as the Man Review: King Alan is my favorite man in Washington. I know I am not alone here. But this book was not what I had hoped it would be. There are a lot of quotes and brief comments on each. Most of the book is about regulations and banking, not on the markets. In a couple of months the market information will be outdated. There is some interesting insite into the 1998 crisis, but that only covers a few pages. The juicy quotes are pretty far between. I did not learn too much about Greenspan or his effect here.
Rating:  Summary: Reinforcing a problem Review: One of the problems that our next President does not want to face is the resignation, or the removal from the Federal Reserve Chairmanship by Mr. Greenspan. As I write we still have no President, thankfully we do have Mr. Greenspan. For those readers who follow or invest in the markets, you all are acutely aware of the power this man wields, 2 words can literally have an impact on markets measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Who will forget "irrational exuberance"? Those words were not even a declaration, but part of a rhetorical comment, and terror still ensued. Contrary to what often is reported, Mr. Greenspan speaks English. However the word parse has become connected with any statement he makes. So the routine is, Mr. Greenspan speaks, and I truly believe the vast majority understand him, but like any event the press and their "experts" take apart every word, whether his brow is wrinkled, and essentially try to graph each appearance and comment to find the "true meaning". I have always found this annoying and condescending. People who are sophisticated enough to manage their money, can manage to understand our Fed Chairman. I made it through this book, but I would not recommend you bother. There is a new book about the man I am reading, and so far it is excellent. This work reinforces the idea that experts need to break down every word, and then explain what Mr. Greenspan means. There are no great insights offered, nothing is simplified, you will learn virtually nothing about the workings of The Federal Reserve, and if you feel comfortable listening to the Chairman now, this book will only make you question whether you should. If you are looking for the opinions of these Authors, if you want to follow a needlessly complex maze of an attempt to find a pattern to everything the man has said, this is for you. As I said, Mr. Greenspan speaks English, and were it not for the emphasis placed on pairings of words out of context, and the emotions they generate, people would understand we have a brilliant Fed Chairman, who at times chooses to be vague, and at times cannot give definitive answers about the future, who can. He has been a remarkable Chairman, appointed and reappointed by 3 presidents from both parties. Now you can take that statement at face value, or have the talking heads dissect it for you. The answer is the same either way, and the time you save listening to what you hear, and skipping the experts, is time better spent on anything else.
Rating:  Summary: Amusing and Interesting Review: Speculating on market expectations? Certainly! Speculators and Investors alike are trying to estimate, as they did in the past, the discount factor that markets are applying to his latest speech. Good companion to Beckner's "Back from the Brink: The Greenspan Years" hence write the same I did for that book. We always watch the yield curve and try to unsuccesfully predict how changes in its slope might affect market expectations. Knowing about the person who indirectly draws it makes a lot of sense. Undoubtly, Alan Greenspan will be remembered for many years to come as one of the greatest economic minds of this century. Highly recommended. Easy read.
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