Rating: 
Summary: How the Fed Works seen through the experiences of Greenspan
Review: This was a very quick read and I think that says more about the book than anything. It is nothing less than a miracle to make something like the Federal Reserve an interesting read, yet Woodward does an excellent job in describing Greenspan through the various economic dramas that have unfolded throughout the years. In many ways, this book is more about the Federal Reserve and economy as seen through the experiences of Alan Greenspan. Woodward uses Greenspan as the main character of the Economy Play with the Federal Board meetings as the stage where the action takes place. This play has very few characters - but we see that the few who are have remarkable influence and power over the economy. What becomes very clear is how much personality plays into politics. Greenspan introduces various characters to the Greenspan / Fed story but does so by describing their personality with Greenspan's reaction - along with their reaction to his personality. While subtle, this is an important lesson in politics or any leadership position. Personalities play an important role - as much as intelligence and influence. It also becomes very clear how many of the decisions made within the Federal Reserve and Treasury are estimates and probabilities - not certainties or guarantees. Woodward does an excellent job at showing the debate with every decision based on various estimates, assumptions, and guesses. Woodward also explores how the Federal Reserve is independent from both the Legislative and Executive branches, but is still not completely immune from their influences. He also describes how Presidents rely on the Chairman - somethings creating frustration. An example is portrayed with President Clinton on page 126: As the implications of Blinder's words dawned on Clinton, the president-elect turned red and, in a critical moment of self-awareness, declared, "You mean to tell me that the success of the program and my reelection hinges on the Federal Reserve and a bunch of #$@?# bond traders?" The uncomfortable answer was yes. There are other gems of management, political guidance and leadership advice: - Years earlier, Greenspan had learned a rule of institutional survival: Bring the bad news yourself. He didn't believe anyone else could convey such delicate messages the way he wanted them conveyed. It was important to look people in the eye, lay out the facts that would soon emerge and to be as direct as possible. - The approach was simple - hear him out, wait him out, always be open, make no enemies - and make your own decisions. - "I know that if you really want to get something done that you go one-on-one privately but never publicly," he once said - privately, not publicly. - This is a town that is full of evil people," Greenspan had said. "If you can't deal with every day having people trying to destroy you, you shouldn't even think about coming down here." The downsides to the book is a portray of Greenspan being the main reason why the economy has doing so well. I still am left questioning how much of our economic success is attributed among Greenspan, the Federal Reserve policy, White House economic policy, and other non-politically influenced trends such as technology. There seem to be many factors and not one single one that creates a boom or recession. Nevertheless, Greenspan is a fascinating, intelligent man who has made significant contributions and it was a priviledge to have an inside look into his decision making and story.
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Summary: If you buy one book this quarter, let it be this one.
Review: Don't mind the other pedantic reviews. If you are in the stock market or if you want to get into Greenspan's head and figure out what he is thinking now about interest rates, read this book. Learn about the dynamics of the relationships between Greenspan and the FOMC members, the President and the political process. Also, this book should finally put to rest the argument that Presidents are only passive participants in the nation's economy.
Rating: 
Summary: Skip Woodward's Next Book
Review: Mr Woodward still has my highest respect for what he did for us in the 70s. Please forgive my frankness. I dropped this book on the floor, heavily, when I finally finished it. It wasted my time. I got nothing I expected when I saw the book title. I even congratulated myself on skipping dozens of paragraphs in the middle of the book. Obviously, Mr. Woodward's knowledge of Fed Reserve and economics is too limited to write such a book. It may be safe to say he is not a "maestro" in economics. If anyone expects to know more about Alan Greenspan, his Fed Reserve and the US economy, disappointment is await for you in the book. The best part of this book is a few anecdotes about Mr. Greenspan's personal life. But I doubt those are a good reason to publish this book. I guess this book, if written by a green hand, might have long and difficult time to get a publisher. The name Woodward sells. But no longer to me. After I read this book, I am afraid that I will have to skip Mr. Woodward's next book. Watergate is history. So is Woodward?
Rating: 
Summary: An Incomplete Account
Review: Mr. Woodward's latest book is almost a mirror image of Justin Martin's biography of Alan Greenspan. Where Martin's book deals more completely with Mr. Greenspan's life but gives short shrift to his time as Fed Chairman, Maestro does just the opposite - it deals almost exclusively with Mr. Greenspan's time at the Fed to the exclusion of everything else. As someone involved with finance on a day to day basis, I am more partial to Woodward's focus, but that is probably a matter of individual taste and preference. One solution is to read both of them because together they make a halfway decent biography. The average reader with little or no knowledge of economics will find this book readily accessible, but that is part of the problem. Mr. Woodward, as is his normal style, focuses more on the politics and personalities and less on the economic principles involved. The end result is like fat free food - easier on the waist line but ultimately unsatisfying. Overall, this book is a decent introduction to Alan Greenspan's time at the Fed, but we will have to wait for someone else to write the definitive biography of one of the most important financial figures of the decade.
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Summary: Decent Job on Difficult Subject
Review: I gave this book 5 stars not because it is so well written or researched (although both are done well) but because it does such a good job of conveying both information and the feel of decision making inside the Federal Reserve. It is so hard to collect information about this institution and its people. After reading this book one understands the Federal Reserve and Greenspan so much better that he/she feels like they can better predict the economic policy of the institution.
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Summary: Behind the Scenes at the Fed
Review: Reading this book goes to prove that the most powerful man in Washington D.C. does not reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Bob Woodward does an excellent job in taking the reader where they have never been before, behind the scenes at the Federal Reserve, where the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) sets interest rates. The book gives insight into who Alan Greenspan is and what drives him. This is a great read!!
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Summary: A good look at Washington from an insider's perspective
Review: Having lived in Washington D.C. for 12 years, having also completed my BA in Business and MS in Finance and, of course, having watched Mr. Greenspan from afar for a very long time...I'd have to say I enjoyed this book tremendously. Let me put it another way, I had Tom Clancy's latest work and Maestro going at the same time. Maestro is complete...Clancy is on Page 60 and I love Clancy. This book is for laypeople. Many of the principles outlined are taught to those with degrees in related fields and are presented very simplistically...good for you if you don't have the degree!! Speed read on some paragraphs for me. This book gives an interesting, and believable, look at a Republican Fed Chairman and his Democratic President. We see a side of Bill Clinton that is more refined and less overshadowed by the women in Mr. Clinton's life. The author is a Washington Post journalist..not a shabby job...and has a number of great works to his credit. If you teach Economics a Yale, you probably should skip this book. If you wonder about the drama of the "4th branch of Government," the Federal Reserve, then by all means read it!
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Summary: Another Milestone In The Sad Decline In American Journalism
Review: This is a deeply, deeply disappointing book. It is an incomplete chronological romp through the Greenspan years, with nothing new to say and zero analysis of the most exciting period in US economic history. Bob Woodward is lazy, uninspiring and unchallenging as a writer. What Woodward likes to call the book's "informal" style reads like an unpolished first draft. I would have failed this as a freshman paper, because it represents nothing more than a timeline with soundbites attached. It is truly pathetic that the political and publishing establishment looks up to this man. The only thing more pathetic is that the American public keeps buying his lightweight books. This book is a product of it's time - a nothing book in an age where the lowest common denominator seems to get lower every year.
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Summary: This Book shows What's Wrong with Publishing
Review: A man who doesn't do his homework, who cranks out books like sausages, who is famous for being famous, who has the big publisher and famed editors supporting his careless and non-researched books should be castigated, not praised. Except for here on .., our reader democracy, this author, Bob Woodward, is lionized. The man who was once a personification of the best journalism has devolved into a metaphor for our sick culture. He has nothing going for him as a book writer and yet he is raking in money money and more money with books, punditry, fame. Forget the big newspapers, who ALWAYS, you can count on it, will praise their own. Read these reviews below and you will see that we're telling you the truth: There's nothing here and what is here is dubious, bland, boring, a writer who no longer pays his dues. Let Woodward know that he can't take OUR money for drivel and worse. And don't buy what the papers tell you to buy. Read customer reviews, read the alternative press, and start being careful before making writers rich, I refer to Woodward right here and "Maestro"--a writer who doesn't write well and a book that doesn't read well.
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Summary: This One Needs a Rate Cut
Review: Woodward is playing for the mass market with this one (I suppose this goes without saying); it's a light read with few new details (other than some personal observations culled in interviews with Fed Associates and Politicos), and disappointing because it lack direction. Woodward touches on several topics which individually could have comprised an entire book. Many themes are glossed over in favor of a good "sound bite"--a juicy quote that covers a multitude of sins. It's a poor effort, and considering the homage Woodward pays to Greenspan's relentless attention to detail, I doubt even Greenspan would be impressed by this amateurish attempt to interpret the numbers.
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