A must read!

This is the all in one source of information on the smoke and mirrors that's happening to our worldwide economic system

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Great read

As always, this author never disappoints with her work. Very informative. Will share this book with family and friends

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Very detailed

Would have liked to read something about the 9/11 and the 2008 crash the market crash otherwise it was very detail and very illuminating.

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Fair history survey, lazy characterizations

Why do I read a book -- "hire" an author? To get unique value. Here, I had trailed off on the central bank story some in recent years, so a survey of the recent history would have some value. This work, on its facts, was mostly content I could get from a google search of key headline articles over the same time span. No, we are not made privy to these whispered confidential insider conversations, as the publisher's teaser hints. Mostly we get the basic facts alongside public PR press releases of the top central bankers and finance ministers. This recounting was worthwhile but not standout; it was useful to see a compendium of the rhetoric of these officials and nations, back and forth. That is the better aspect and value of this book: it is pretty good as a basic history recital.

How about the analysis, then? Instantly, peeves jumped out here. One was the repetition of certain trademark phrases, murky and ill-defined. Collusion was one. How is it distinguished from cooperation? Well, if one accepts the (not thoroughly historically grounded) evil bankers subtext, then I guess we could use that term carelessly thereafter. But that narrative, often some sort of faintly leftish populist whining to my ears, isn't neatly pinned to the history and facts. We just need to swallow the author's POV. A better book, IMO, would elevate the discussion by explicating the nuances, dilemmas, trade-offs and alternatives faced by these actors in those times. Instead, we have simplistic breezy passages skipping by these matters, and too much of a tone of resentful sniping (expressed in simplistic, overused catch-phrases). I guess I should be satisfied with these cues for what I should uncritically conclude alongside this author. Of course elitist bankers who go to Davos are wrecking our lives and crushing the noble aspirations of emerging economies, right? (I do agree with her point that the Fed fumbled subprime regulation pre-crisis. OK, there is a whole history there, written up elsewhere, not explicated here, but then? What new insights are to be found? Once the edifice was in collapse, after centuries of a buildup of this semi-private weird banking system, AT THAT JUNCTURE, what tools were at hand, what alternative risks? Eternal resentment is the cheap shot for a thinker and author, I believe.) How, for example, would things be different if the (supposedly) noble Joe Six-Packs of the world (who had just themselves heedlessly plunged off a cliff into subprime home loans they signed) had been simply handed wads of money? That is impliedly (I think? I am left to conjecture in this murk) suggested as a better thing, but not explored. What might have happened without these bankers' machinations? We simply get recrimination here, mostly. This same casual tossing about of words and assumptions surrounds the oft-used (and useless, and carelessly constructed, and pejorative) term money-conjuring. Hello: we got a central bank to get elasticity in currency aggregates when needed. But none of that (troublingly nuanced and complex stuff, though not beyond the reach of this book's audience) is here. Instead, we can take a sniping tone to suggest these Davos elites are some sort of malevolent witches, cackling and conjuring money as if around a cartoon cauldron. So too, this author in any situation of ambiguity invariably defaults to criticizing US financial elites, versus any of the other (I will say, at least equally greedy, scheming, self-interested) players and I think she tends to laud others in other nations who are playing the same games, usually less aptly (IMO).

Finally, the excessive casualness appears in imputing intentions and motives to people and whole nations unsupported by the data points provided. Several times we are told what Ben Bernanke's aims were, alongside his quotes that are more intelligent and nuanced than the author tried to nudge us to believe. And, I recall a phrase, not unusual in its style in this book, of the sort, "the United States believed ...." That is absurd on its face. The USA is not a monolithic entity that believes some simple linear thing. Some person(s) within the USA took a position, yes. It would be more accurate to call the USA completely schizophrenic than to impute such a narrow belief. I.e., this has low information content.
I would, if editing this, have, I believe, helped push this author harder point by point to produce a far more justifiably penetrating and influential work. The promise is here, the framework is here, the execution falls short. I think All the President's Bankers by her had almost identical issues.

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15 people found this helpful

A clear insightful narrative of monetary collusion

Greatly enjoyed book and insightful narrative of monetary collusion as it delved into the role big banks played in its aftermath.

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4 people found this helpful

Collusion

loved the book and the detail within.
Proving and providing how the rich got richer.

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Excellent book

Narration is well done
I read this book to learn about the central banks. I suspected there was collusion of some type.
Naomi details the collusion in an interesting way…never boring. Well worth your time

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Great behind the scenes detail

If you're looking for in depth detail on central bankers, their actions and the effects around the world..this book is for you. Gives a different perspective of the chaos that's occurred for the last several decades.

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Central banks is the biggest scam

Very insightful book and it's actually scary to think that the collusion is still going on today

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Excellent telling of a complex economic tale

First I would like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed your book permanent distortions. For someone to fully appreciate collusion, reading that first would definitely be helpful.

I’ve been studying economics on my own for several years and find your intellectual honesty refreshing. You are obviously somewhat farther to the left politically than I am, and I cringed at what I found to be gratuitous comments about Trump which had nothing to do with the story, but I will read anything you write about economics.

I would love for you to give Jennifer Burns a call. I’m sure you’re familiar with her and her recent publication Milton Friedman the last conservative. His contribution to economics Is enormous and the application of his monetary theory by Paul Volcker as told by Jennifer Burns is fascinating.

In permanent distortion you tell the story of the unraveling of what I would consider the natural law of economics, supply and demand, consumption function, effects of creating or conjuring as you said all this money out of nowhere has led to unexpected consequences On a massive global scale. I’d love for you to write about what I consider to be the use of reverse repos To help keep cash out of the real economy as well as other tricks they’ve used.

I just specially like for you to give Jennifer Burns a call and for you guys to Co-author a book on the. Especially from 2007 Forward. With your expertise in hindsight, I would like for you to evaluate the effect of Lynn and Johnson‘s war on poverty and Vietnam war expenditures at the same time implementing the Kennedy tax cuts which is I understand it was the real beginning of the inflation that would run rampant at the end of Jimmy Carter’s term and lead to his losing the election.

The delays associated with the actions that are being taken cause so much misinterpretation of what’s going on in the economics globally. I’d like your evaluation of the feds basically taking on the liability for every dollar in every bank even though they’re not officially insured as a result of the Silicon Valley banks bail out. I’ll stop here you know the list. Please give Jennifer Burns a call. I am waiting for that book!

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