One friend exclaimed after reading The Age of Turbulence: as the Fed's chairman for 18.5 years, Alan Greenspan's insights are unparalleled. Another friend, however, refuses to read the book. The Federal Reserve, as a semi-government body, lends money to the government and charges interest rates. What a ridiculous rip off – he exclaims.
I came to the book decidedly with no admiration or prejudice. Now after finishing the 500 pages, there are more questions than answers. First, my ambiguity toward the Fed and Alan Greenspan remains. Second, I find it hard to agree with many of Greenspan's solutions and judgments. Finally, he successfully raised many questions that I did not think of before.
The book consists of two parts. The first is a chronicle of Greenspan's life. The second part, where the meat is, includes essays on major economic issues the world faces today: corporate governance, China, India, Latin America, Russia (where is Africa?), energy, current accounts and debt, income inequity and retiring work force.
My biggest question is how can people reach opposite conclusions using the same method – logic? Greenspan's method is meticulous, but his conclusions are far from consensus. It may be more important to examine what one is bringing into the equation than to check the arithmetics.
The book's strength is clarity: Greenspan used simple language to explain complex issues. Often, he is incisive. The book also used large amount of data. Leaving out the trivia details, Greenspan concentrated on the critical points.
I'm keeping the book for future reference, especially on Greenspan's predications of the economy in 2030. For now, I walk away with his very Republican, pro-market, pro-democracy, laissez faire viewpoints with a big question mark.