Binding: Hardcover
EAN: 9780713999822
ISBN: 0713999829
Label: Allen Lane
Manufacturer: Allen Lane
Number Of Pages: 544
Publication Date: September 17, 2007
Publisher: Allen Lane
Release Date: September 17, 2007
Studio: Allen Lane

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- A Peek behind the Curtain!
The Age of Turbulence is engaging, fascinating and educational. Watching Greenspan on television in the Senate Sub Committee meetings was interesting...but tough to know who the man behind the curtain was. This book opens the curtain and lets us see a motivated individual who is confident of his skills, but doesn't flaunt it.

In the first part of the book Alan Greenspan does an exceptional job of explaining what makes him tick and provides a peek into the world of the Fed Chairman. In the second part he talks about various parts of the world and spices it with a bit of crystal balling.

It is clear that Alan Greeenspan has strong Critical Thinking and Decision Making skills. He has been succeeded in many of his ventures. As with all humans he has his weaknesses as well. His honest candor in the book made it refreshing and useful.

There are some great topics in the book that let us get to know Alan Greenspan. Some of these are: City Kid, The Making of an Economist, Black Monday, The Fall of the Wall, Irrational Exuberance, Millennium Fever and Downturn. The second half of the book has equally excellent subjects: The Choices that Await China, The Tigers and the Elephant, Russia's Sharp Elbows, Latin America and Populism, Globalization and Regulation, The World Retires, Bit Can it Afford To, the Delphic Future an more.

Overall the book is insightful and a great read!

One final thought: I found that Age of Turbulence coupled with Revolutionary Wealth by Alvin and Heidi Toffler help to provide a look into possible futures and what we can do to make a great one for ourselves!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Rating:

- Panoramic
For any global citizen looking to make a difference in any corporate or institutional context, this is a must-read, especially for students of economics.

While the bias of coverage is surely US centric, the author examines key global phenomena such as: the epoch making shift of about half the world from behind the walls of centrally planned economies to competitive free markets, the shifting age profile of the global population, the socio-economic implications of a terrorism-threatened landscape, the dilemmas associated with corporate governance, and the 'long term energy squeeze'.

What is missing is the impending dilemma of the petro-dollar vis-a-vis the petro-euro, not surprisingly

Interesting previews strewn aplenty, to what goes on in corridors of global power, for those who are interested.

And of course, the Ayn Rand connection was unknown to me before reading this!

Rating:

- Life, Love, Biography, History, Economics
"The Age of Turbulence" is part biography and part economic treatise. In the first part, Greenspan tells the saga of his youth, education and gradual professional development. The narrative of his relationships with Ayn Rand, Arthur Burns and others introduces the reader to the concept of how a familiarity with innovative thinkers can direct a life and career. As a business major in college, I find the story of the life work of an economist to be fascinating. A reader with less interest in business may find it to be boring. Greenspan then progresses into the memoirs of his service on the Council of Economic Advisors and as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. As an amateur historian, I became engrossed in his memories of service with presidents from Nixon to George W. Bush. His intimate analysis of them, including his characterization of Nixon and Clinton as the smartest with whom he worked, is instructive. His narratives on recent history from an economic viewpoint present the issues with which we have lived in a unique perspective. His discrete stories about his relationships with his mother and wife, Andrea Mitchell, keep the work grounded in real life.

The latter parts of the book consist of Greenspan's views on the economic conditions and prospects in nations and regions of the world followed by his analyses of anticipated opportunities and challenges expected to confront the U.S. economy in the foreseeable future.

This book is well written. The biographical portions will be fascinating to anyone with an interest in recent national and economic history. This section may justify the purchase in itself. Elements of the later sections dealing with economics will require a greater than common understanding of economic theory and methods to keep the eyes from glazing over. Even if you do not finish the book, the early portions will make the effort worthwhile.

Rating:

- An Economics compendium hides therein
If you read the jacket you might think this was no more than memoirs and self justification. What you get is that and a whole lot more.

Of course everyone likes to say they made generally the right decisions and were instrumental in having others act in the greater good. Greenspan is only human to do this for the first half of the book.

The second half of the book is a very big bonus. It reflects a measured and carefully considered opinion upon many important topics in economics. If you prefer labelling, then yes he is strictly speaking neo-classical economist. However, only someone who doesn't understand econmoics would wear filtered glasses to worry about this. There is a good balance of what the consequences are of the various choices raised by each issue. Like any good economist, the price of the choices are defined - the question then becomes what is the preference of society and leaves the reader to make their own judgement.

The writing is pithy and matter of fact. One can understand why Greenspan was once a successful consultant. This is an excellent book if you want to read a good summary of relevant economic issues (about 20-25 pgs each). You will never find this sort of coverage in the press.

A positive investment of time and money.

Rating:

- It is an old fashioned view on the economy
This book is a mixture of economic and political history of the past in the United States of America. The political view begins with his beginning in the Ford Administration. He shows the earlier time as a consultant with his partner Townsend. It collects the political era of the presidents who follows. His aim is to show the new economy which is represented after the Millennium. The first part of the book focuses on the political economy decisions of the administration in power and what he contributes to the government. This part is a brief roundup and a description of the economic and political process. It is scattered with his personal thing. The person is taken to the background. But you didn't get something known about Alan Greenspan.
The second part is about his new economy. What is new in his economy? He depends on the invisible hand theorem of Adam Smith and the creative destruction principle of Joseph Schumpeter. His view on Europe is totally wrong. He doesn't see that another form of capitalism is an efficient one, like it is in his chapter about china. The new form of capitalism which was introduced in Europe is based on the values of the competition in a social free market economy. Distribution of income, leaving the poor behind, these are problem witch must be faced by the government. It is in every country a different solution. The American way of capitalism is on of a kind. The social insurance system is by far better matched in Europe. His macroeconomic analysis is based on John Maynard Keynes. Like, had a change on interest rates an effect on the inflation rate or had it an effect on growth. This is not a modern approach to a new economy. He believes in the neo-classical market economy. But the new economy is based on a more modern way. The new economy is based on game theoretic bargaining, behavioural finance and psychological aspects on the homo oeconomicus. The new economy is more influenced by the economics of the status quo and the economics of the stakeholders on political decision making. The last point had a strong influence on voting system in the United States. I'm missing the focus on the money market. I want to have an insight on the decisions of the Federal Reserve Bank. The connections between the banking system, financial markets and his job as the chairman.
The book is easily read but it is still boring. You can get a better view of the economic development from the book by Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw. The book is for the people who have nothing to do with business in her private life. For the persons who follow the daily press and read the financial news, it is a book witch can be laid aside.

Try searching the Internet for "The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World" or Ebay for "The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World".

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