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The Man Who Knew
- The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 29 hrs and 9 mins
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Publisher's summary
The definitive biography of the most important economic statesman of our time, from the best-selling author of The Power Law and More Money Than God.
Sebastian Mallaby's magisterial biography of Alan Greenspan, the product of over five years of research based on untrammeled access to his subject and his closest professional and personal intimates, brings into vivid focus the mysterious point where the government and the economy meet. To understand Greenspan's story is to see the economic and political landscape of our time - and the presidency from Reagan to George W. Bush - in a whole new light. As the most influential economic statesman of his age, Greenspan spent a lifetime grappling with a momentous shift: The transformation of finance from the fixed and regulated system of the post-war era to the free-for-all of the past quarter century. The story of Greenspan is also the story of the making of modern finance, for good and for ill.
Greenspan's life is a quintessential American success story: Raised by a single mother in the Jewish émigré community of Washington Heights, he was a math prodigy who found a niche as a stats-crunching consultant. A master at explaining the economic weather to captains of industry, he translated that skill into advising Richard Nixon in his 1968 campaign. This led to a perch on the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and then to a dazzling array of business and government roles, from which the path to the Fed was relatively clear. A fire-breathing libertarian and disciple of Ayn Rand in his youth who once called the Fed's creation a historic mistake, Mallaby shows how Greenspan reinvented himself as a pragmatist once in power. In his analysis, and in his core mission of keeping inflation in check, he was a maestro indeed, and hailed as such. At his retirement in 2006, he was lauded as the age's necessary man, the veritable God in the machine, the global economy's avatar. His memoirs sold for record sums to publishers around the world.
But then came 2008. Mallaby's story lands with both feet on the great crash which did so much to damage Alan Greenspan's reputation. Mallaby argues that the conventional wisdom is off base: Greenspan wasn't a naïve ideologue who believed greater regulation was unnecessary. He had pressed for greater regulation of some key areas of finance over the years, and had gotten nowhere. To argue that he didn't know the risks in irrational markets is to miss the point. He knew more than almost anyone; the question is why he didn't act, and whether anyone else could or would have. A close reading of Greenspan's life provides fascinating answers to these questions, answers whose lessons we would do well to heed. Because perhaps Mallaby's greatest lesson is that economic statesmanship, like political statesmanship, is the art of the possible. The Man Who Knew is a searching reckoning with what exactly comprised the art, and the possible, in the career of Alan Greenspan.
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Critic reviews
“While Greenspan was (and is) a more capable economist than he gets credit for these days, he was an even better politician....This view of Greenspan as a political animal is central to Mallaby’s account. It is also, along with the often amusing depictions of Greenspan’s personal life, what makes it so much fun to read....[An] excellent biography.” (New York Times Book Review)
“Exceptional...Deeply researched and elegantly written...As a description of the politics and pressures under which modern independent central banking has to operate, the book is incomparable.” (Financial Times)
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Instead of going where other journalists have gone in search of this story - the board rooms and trading floors of the big Wall Street firms - Scheer goes back to Washington, D.C., a veritable crime scene, beginning in the 1980s, where the captains of the finance industry, their lobbyists and allies among leading politicians destroyed an American regulatory system that had been functioning effectively since the era of the New Deal.
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A great telling of an unfortunate part of history
- By Trace on 10-27-20
By: Robert Scheer
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The New Deal
- A Modern History
- By: Michael Hiltzik
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 19 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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As America struggles with an economic debacle akin to the Great Depression, nothing could be timelier than an authoritative account of the New Deal, masterfully written by Michael Hiltzik, author of the acclaimed history of the Hoover Dam, Colossus.
In this richly peopled, vividly rendered narrative, Hiltzik describes how the urgent short-term relief measures of Franklin Roosevelt’s Hundred Days evolved into a transformative concept of the federal role in American life.
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Another Excellent New Deal History
- By R.S. on 12-19-11
By: Michael Hiltzik
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Overhaul
- An Insider's Account of the Obama Administration's Emergency Rescue of the Auto Industry
- By: Steven Rattner
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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This first real look inside Team Obama mixes political warfare and big-business shakeups in equal proportions, and comes from a uniquely informed source. Steve Rattner is not just the man brought in by the president to save the auto industry, he is a former New York Times financial reporter who also earned a place among the top tier of Wall Street's most informed investment bankers and corporate experts.
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Overhaul - A Memoir
- By Roy on 12-05-10
By: Steven Rattner
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All the Presidents' Bankers
- The Hidden Alliances That Drive American Power
- By: Nomi Prins
- Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
- Length: 19 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Nomi Prins ushers us into the intimate world of exclusive clubs, vacation spots, and Ivy League universities that binds presidents and financiers. She unravels the multi-generational blood, intermarriage, and protégé relationships that have confined national influence to a privileged cluster of people. This unprecedented history of American power illuminates how financiers have retained their authoritative position through history, swaying presidents regardless of party affiliation.
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You better like history about the elite and rich
- By Victor on 01-12-15
By: Nomi Prins
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Bought and Paid For
- The Unholy Alliance Between Barack Obama and Wall Street
- By: Charles Gasparino
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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According to business reporter Charles Gasparino, President Obama is faking his outrage at Wall Street, and his calls for new policies to rein in banks that are "too big to fail" are just pabulum. In reality, Obama has climbed into bed with Wall Street CEOs, giving them what they want so they will support his liberal, big-government agenda.
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Revealing and Convincing
- By Walter on 10-24-11
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The Bank That Lived a Little
- Barclays in the Age of the Very Free Market
- By: Philip Augar
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on unparalleled access to those involved, and told with compelling pace and drama, The Bank That Lived a Little is the story of one of the most familiar names on the British high street since Big Bang in 1986. Philip Augar describes in detail three decades of boardroom intrigue driven by ruthless ambition, grandiose dreams and a desire for wealth. It is a tale of a struggle for long-term supremacy between rival strategies and their adherents.
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Global superstar bankers under light-touch gov
- By Philo on 12-21-18
By: Philip Augar
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America's Bank
- The Epic Struggle to Create the Federal Reserve
- By: Roger Lowenstein
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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A tour de force of historical reportage, America’s Bank illuminates the tumultuous era and remarkable personalities that spurred the unlikely birth of America’s modern central bank, the Federal Reserve. Today, the Fed is the bedrock of the financial landscape, yet the fight to create it was so protracted and divisive that it seems a small miracle that it was ever established. For nearly a century, America, alone among developed nations, refused to consider any central or organizing agency in its financial system.
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Important and Intriguing
- By Jean on 11-02-15
By: Roger Lowenstein
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Borrowed Time
- Two Centuries of Booms, Busts, and Bailouts at Citi
- By: James Freeman, Vern McKinley
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
To save the economy and keep Citi afloat in 2008, the government provided huge infusions of cash through multiple bailouts that frustrated and angered the American public. But, as Wall Street Journal writer James Freeman and financial expert Vern McKinley reveal, the 2008 crisis was just one of many disasters Citi has experienced since its founding more than 200 years ago. In Borrowed Time they reveal Citi’s disturbing history of instability and government support. It’s a story that neither Citi nor Washington wants told.
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Biased
- By CF on 08-09-19
By: James Freeman, and others
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The House of Morgan
- An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 34 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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A gripping history of banking and the booms and busts that shaped the world on both sides of the Atlantic, The House of Morgan traces the trajectory of the J. P.Morgan empire from its obscure beginnings in Victorian London to the crash of 1987. Ron Chernow paints a fascinating portrait of the private saga of the Morgans and the rarefied world of the American and British elite in which they moved. Based on extensive interviews and access to the family and business archives, The House of Morgan is an investigative masterpiece.
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The construction of the House of Morgan
- By Darwin8u on 10-22-18
By: Ron Chernow
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A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States, 1961-2021
- By: Alan S. Blinder
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Alan Blinder, one of the world's most influential economists and one of the field's best writers, draws on his deep firsthand experience to provide an authoritative account of sixty years of monetary and fiscal policy in the United States. Spanning twelve presidents, from John F. Kennedy to Joe Biden, and eight Federal Reserve chairs, from William McChesney Martin to Jerome Powell, this is an insider's story of macroeconomic policy that hasn't been told before—one that is a pleasure to listen to, and as interesting as it is important.
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Listen for Nixon's Sake
- By Tricia on 10-26-22
By: Alan S. Blinder
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Adults in the Room
- My Battle with the European and American Deep Establishment
- By: Yanis Varoufakis
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 20 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
What happens when you take on the establishment? In Adults in the Room, renowned economist and former finance minister of Greece Yanis Varoufakis gives the full, blistering account of his momentous clash with the mightiest economic and political forces on earth.
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Very interesting but listen with caution.
- By Dimitris on 10-08-19
By: Yanis Varoufakis
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Act of Congress
- How America's Essential Institution Works, and How It Doesn't
- By: Robert G. Kaiser
- Narrated by: Matthew Josdal
- Length: 19 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
An eye-opening account of how Congress today really works - and doesn’t - that follows the dramatic journey of the sweeping financial reform bill enacted in response to the Great Crash of 2008. The founding fathers expected Congress to be the most important branch of government and gave it the most power. When Congress is broken - as its justifiably dismal approval ratings suggest - so is our democracy.
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insightful, and eye opening.
- By A&K Schneider on 10-21-17
By: Robert G. Kaiser
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The Forgotten Man
- By: Amity Shlaes
- Narrated by: Terence Aselford
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
It's difficult today to imagine how America survived the Great Depression. Only through the stories of the common people who struggled during that era can we really understand how the nation endured. In The Forgotten Man, Amity Shlaes offers a striking reinterpretation of the Great Depression. Rejecting the old emphasis on the New Deal, she turns to the neglected and moving stories of individual Americans, and shows how they helped establish the steadfast character we developed as a nation.
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a story of forgotten times
- By Debb Robinson on 10-11-07
By: Amity Shlaes
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Great history, but could poor narration
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The Power of Strangers
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Not worth a credit
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Capital in the Twenty-First Century
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What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital? Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospects for economic growth lie at the heart of political economy. But satisfactory answers have been hard to find for lack of adequate data and clear guiding theories.
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The Financial Times' Critique Doesn't Detract
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Poor Charlie’s Almanack
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"Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up," Charles T. Munger advises in Poor Charlie’s Almanack. Originally published in 2005, this compendium of 11 talks, delivered by the legendary Berkshire Hathaway vice-chairman between 1986 and 2007, has become a touchstone for a generation of investors and entrepreneurs seeking to absorb the enduring wit and wisdom of one of the great minds of the 20th and 21st centuries.
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Wisdom from grandpa Charlie
- By J R Cavanaugh on 08-18-24
What listeners say about The Man Who Knew
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- R. A. Steele
- 11-05-17
Greenspan Throughout
The insistence on using Greenspan as the reference name for the subject throughout the book dropped me out of the text pretty reliably. I'm not sure why. I wouldn't have recognized who the author was talking about if he had referred to him as Alan. Listened to back to back with The Big Short, you can get a feel for both sides of the 2008 crash.
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- Carl Thompson
- 08-11-17
Who knew?
Who knew you could make a book about Greenspan riveting? Great book with a greater performance. The more you hear, the more you want to hear.
Not just a biography of Greenspan, but a review of the machinations of the American economy post-Eisenhower.
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- Pablo
- 02-18-17
A superb biography
Much better on Greenspan than anything Greenspan himself wrote. You get a good picture of the great economist and forecaster, the shrewd political operative, and the mistakes he did make, without excuses. Mallaby is an excellent writer -- read also "More Money Than God".
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- Patrick
- 12-18-16
Perfect narration
What other book might you compare The Man Who Knew to and why?
If you're already read AG's memoir, this is still worth reading. His life story is told in a completely different manner, and the story goes much wider than biography - this is a monetary history of the last half-century.
What does Dan Woren bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Narrator does slight impressions of the key people involved - Greenspan, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Kissinger, and others. If you had a magic dial to move from narrator to the actual person, it's set perfectly around 25%.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Great book but this make an awful film.
Any additional comments?
30 hours but it's not dense or difficult. Financial wonkery is easy to understand (provided you're familiar with the importance of monetary policy) and the author moves seamlessly from finance and negotiating tactics to love affairs.
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- Henry
- 05-27-17
A excellent / wonderful biography
A very interesting book. Highly recommended. Easy to listen to.
Provides a good understanding of Dr. Greenspan - the man and his ideas.
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- G. Hutcheson
- 12-08-16
The real Alan
Having lived thru this era, I could never understand how he went from hero to bum so fast. The real story that he was neither. It was the public that raised him up and brought him down -- all with 20:20 hindsight.
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- Philo
- 01-15-17
Enlightening on many levels
This is a masterful work that weaves seamlessly between (1) US large-scale money and financial history from about 1970 to 2010, (2) the persons, institutions, policies and politics involved, and the successes and failures of those elements at each turn of events, and (3) one brilliant, powerful but quite imperfect man's journey across this landscape. Meanwhile, with great discipline, this author consistently found that sweet spot between clear explanation and well-paced listenable story on one hand, and complexity on the other (in a way any reasonably bright reader can grasp). Even the quirky personal details are in service to this overall work of enlightenment, as I found my mind could pause just enough across personal details, to re-engage as the economic-financial story moved forward, such that I could reflect and form opinions of my own in real time. I had seen bits and pieces of this whole story before, but it was a great service to pull it all together with such deftness. I am now better equipped to evaluate events past and present that affect my financial life. No definitive, simplistic, single verdict can be rendered of Greenspan's career, I believe, but I feel some expertise now on every phase of it. Credit goes to both the author and to Alan Greenspan for the courage all around to allow a process to occur which as freely praised as criticized Mr. Greenspan. This sort of bold factual storytelling (and respect for the reader's search for the reader's own conclusions) helps refresh my respect for the political system in which it occurred.
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- Olawale J. Ogundana
- 12-23-16
Very interesting and educative.
The book informs you about a brilliant man, and educates you about monetary policy, the challenges associated with bringing about change, and the pragmatism that real people often resort to in the real world.
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- Malcolm
- 03-07-17
Comprehensive and insightful
Really enjoyable and well read book in my opinion ideally suited to consuming via audiobook given its length. Anyone with an interest in finance, economics and/or US politics over the last few decades would enjoy
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- Brad R Elledge
- 02-18-17
A boomer's guide to Economic history of the U.S. post WWII
This was a fascinating book because at age 64, I lived through it all. The book brought you behind the scenes with all the players one remembers from past Presidential administrations and past economic crises. It's a well told and even handed look at a man who managed to navigate Washington across six Presidents... what a survivor. Gives you a great appreciation for the art in managing an economy and the hubris of the supposed Econ scientists. Read Lewis's "The Undoing Game" next if you want to finish the dethroning of classical Econ thinking.
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2 people found this helpful