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Summary: Valuable work that goes on too long
Review: Secrets of the Temple covers an important area of the United States' economic system that most people are do not understand. Greider confirms Sen. Charles Lindbergh's prediction back in 1913 that a central bank would create "scientific recessions." Overall, a fascinating look at the Fed and the unaccountable power it holds;I would recommend this book to anyone interested in how the American economy is really run, whether they are conservative or liberal. My only complaint that it does go on too long and gets redundant at times. Skip a few pages, but don't miss this book!
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Summary: The forgotten branch of Government
Review: Secrets of the Temple is one of the best books I ever read. Greider gives a superb overview of the history and the inner workings of the Federal Reserve System. Greider also gives a very good description of how 'Reaganomics' was introduced in the beginning of the 1980s. Secrets of the Temple shows that the conduct of monetary policy has more to do with alchemy than with economics itself.
After reading this book, I think it is a shame that few Americans know how important this forgotten branch of Government is !
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Summary: one of the best books on US economic and monetary history
Review: Secrets of the Temple is one of the best books i have encountered on the history of US economic and monetary policy. very riveting and well-told account of how US monetary policy and regulation developed and grew into the Federal Reserve system and its operations. if there is one flaw in this book, it is the overt bias toward conspiracy theory -- that the federal reserve is an institution designed to protect the owners of capital explicitly at the expense of the average person, and accordingly acts as the agent of the rich to shift the nation's wealth toward the wealthy. it is in fact designed to protect the money supply, particularly in times of economic shock - a role previously played by private US money center banks, largely in New York, until the task grew too large for their resources and their interests (for a great account of this issue, see Ron Chernow's The House of Morgan, which makes a great companion to this book). this tone is particulary strong toward! s the end of the book, and detracts from what is otherwise a very meticulous, well articulated, and solid examination. if you can place this bias aside or in perspective, you'll find this a great and informative read, and wonderful retelling of american economic development with many new insights. i highly recommend it.
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Summary: This is a fantastic book.
Review: Should be read by everyone in this country and many outside of this country. Exceptional and informational, mind blowing. This is one of the few important books that exists that answers "why?".......All econ, poli-sci, biz students should read it, at the very least......
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Summary: This Book is the best written aboutThe Federal Reserve
Review: The author has taken a very difficult subject and has laid out the facts of the Federal Reserve in such a manner that many readers will have a better understanding of the danger the Federal Reserve poses to all of us in our daily lives. My career spanned almost 30 years in commercial banking. I saw the Federal Reserve almost collapse our economy in l979 and l980. Although the book is somewhat technical, readers will enjoy it.
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Summary: A great read about a mysterious federal agency...
Review: The Fed's role in our society is something that few people understand (even those who major in econ)... Greider paints a clear picture of how this agency, which is essentially accountable to no one, has far-reaching powers and to whom they are indebted... Especially interesting Greider's explanation why the Democrats cannot completely blame the Republicans for the S&L disaster and how the whole mess occurred... If this book doesn't just make you say, "Huh? How could this still have happened?", then you might as well just send the govt. a blank check every April... Every college student (regardless of major) should have to read this book...
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Summary: The Visible Hands
Review: This is an excellent book about the Federal Reserve. Mr. Greider, a populist leftist ideologically, delivers a quality indepth history of this quasi-socialistic regulatory agency, whose existence mocks the very nature of the "free" markets worshipped by the public. Greider also explains the mechanics of the fed beautifully, which should be helpful for the newbie. He also examines the political behavior of this undemocratic institution, which I feel is this book's finest attribute.Greider does a good job identifying how various social classes are affected by monetary policy. Given the depth he alloted to other issues, I wish he would have dedicated more treatment to the subject of the "egalitarian" effects of inflation, for intelligent readers may be justifiably incredulous initially. That premise (inflation=good) is the foundation of this book, after all. Overall though, this book is very well documented. I love the author's writing style and couldn't set this book down. I'd recommend it to a person who is new about what goes on at the Fed, and perhaps specialists as well.
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Summary: Good explanation of the Fed, bad explanation of the 80s
Review: This is an excellent expose of the origins and mechanisms of the Federal Reserve. If you want to study these subjects, this is probably the best basic text you could find. I can't stress this point too strongly - if you want to learn about the Fed's nature and history, this is **the** place to start. Unfortunately, the author injects his liberal political biases in the sections that deal with the concrete analysis of the Fed's policies during the Reagan era. This is based on the idea that there is something "progressive" and "egalitarian" in inflation, the economic dragon that Reagan wanted so fiercely to slay. Such a notion is absurd - inflation corrodes the buying power of money, regardless of one's economic status, because America's rich and poor both use one currency. In fact, inflation is probably worse for the poor than for the rich;.... The smaller amount means more, because there is less left over. This apparently simple notion seems to have escaped the author. It is also somewhat ironic that the author is crediting one of Reagan's policies with an economic achievement; standard liberal practice is to deny that Reagan achieved anything economic. Still, if you can ignore these flaws, then the book should not give you any trouble.
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Summary: Incredible...if I was a professor.....it would be REQUIRED.
Review: This is certainly one of the best books I have ever read. I learned as much from it as I did in 4 years studying Finance in college. If even 30% of Americans read this book...we would have an entirely different socio-economic structure in America.
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Summary: Secrets of the Temple - William Greider
Review: While this book dismisses in one paragraph the idea that the Federal Reserve System was born of a conspiracy, it than goes on for over 700 pages to describe in fascinating detail the operation of, what must surely be the most sinister conspiracy ever hoisted upon mankind, the Federal Reserve System. The author is not a conspiracy theory kook or a John Birch society member, but rather an ex Editor of the Washington Post. The book is endorsed by Ted Kennedy, The Washington Post, and the NY Times, all noted for their liberal bent. It is not a politically motivated book but rather a shocking expose of the organization of banks that controls our economy and the worlds. Instead of "and that government of the people, by the people and for the people", the Federal Reserve system has made it "government of the banks, by the banks, and for the banks shall not perish from the earth". It is clear from reading this book that our economy and the world's economy is controlled by a handful of very powerful bankers. Our President and Congress have abdicated all responsibility via the Federal Reserve act of 1914. As Meyer Rothschild, Europe's premier Central Banker, said, "Give me control of the issue and value of money and I care not who makes the laws". Our government has no say whatsoever in the direction our economy is taking or for that matter how much of our money (printed by the Fed) is loaned to foreign countries. The banks have complete freedom to loan whatever amounts they choose to whichever countries they choose. If the interest on the loans cannot be repaid, they simply have the Fed print more money to loan enough to pay the interest. This book makes it clear that our entire financial system is built on a house of cards for the exclusive benefit of the banks that control it. They benefit in boom times and when there's depression and they are solely responsible for both. If you're concerned about your economic survival, your own personal freedom and our country, you should read this book. It wil enlighten you and also frighten you.
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