by Ben Bernanke
First published 2015
Ben Bernanke stands at the helm of the Federal Reserve as the housing market collapses in 2007. The burst bubble triggers a cascade that threatens to destroy the global financial system. Bernanke must deploy every tool at his disposal, working alongside two presidents and Treasury secretaries to prevent total economic meltdown. He draws on his journey from rural South Carolina through academic posts at Stanford and Princeton to his arrival in Washington in 2002. The crisis tests his resolve as he makes split-second decisions that could save or sink the American economy. Through the intense weeks of near-collapse and the grinding months of recession that follow, Bernanke fights to keep the nation financially stable. His story reveals how quick thinking and bold action by a small group of leaders prevented an economic disaster beyond imagination.
Genres: business, economics, biography-memoir, 21st-century, academic, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: crisis, decision-making, leadership
Setting: Princeton, South Carolina, Stanford, Washington
Period: 2002, 2007
624 pages · Hardcover · Norton