Praise For PANDERER TO POWER
“We all owe a great debt to Fred Sheehan. Fred demolishes the myth of Alan Greenspan’s omniscience, while revealing the dangerous credulity of those whoset him on a pedestal above the rest of us. Panderer to Power will be invaluable in making the case for how we might preserve our solvency and our system.”
Seth A. Klarman, president, Baupost Group, L.L.C.
“Many have written about the man who used to be called ‘Maestro.’ But none has done so with such clarity of perception as Frederick Sheehan. Between the covers of this timely and important book, the former Fedchairman stands revealed as America’s own Wizard of Oz.”
James Grant, editor, Grant’s Interest Rate Observer
“The Fed, Greenspan’s Fed, not only supplied the whiskey for the party, it led the charge for irresponsible behavior by essentially telling people ‘don’t worry, be happy.’ A thorough, in-depth look at the man who wrought somuch damage on so many, this brilliant effort by Fred Sheehan is a major step in setting the record straight on this era.”
Bill Fleckenstein, president, Fleckenstein Capital and co-author, Greenspan’s Bubbles
“Fred Sheehan vividly shows in his excellent and long overdue account, the devastating monetary policies the Fed has pursued under Mr. Greenspan, which have been continued by Mr. Bernanke. After reading Panderer to Power, you will have no respect for the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, politicians, and Wall Street.”
Marc Faber, editor, Gloom, Doom and Boom Report
"An important part of Sheehan's book is Greenspan’s role in expanding this country’s monetary base far behind our means.”
--Boston Business Journal, November 2009
"This well written, though obviously polemic, text documents the issues as he sees them. When read in conjunction with Greenspan’s own biography, a picture emerges of a complex, obviously smart man who may have been promoted to a position beyond his competence, but was expert at covering up and obfuscation."
--Troy Media, November 2009
About the Book:
Alan Greenspan’s 18-year stint as headof the Federal Reserve Bank witnessedsome of the most massive upward redistributionsof wealth in our nation’s history.It’s now clear that his policies contributedgreatly to the transformation of Wall Streetfrom an engine that financed American businessto a business-destroying machine—andthat Greenspan abetted the hollowing out ofthe U.S. economy by giving Wall Street andWashington everything they could possiblywant.
To take the full measure of Greenspan’s culpability,we need to look beyond the disgracedpublic persona and see him within the broadersweep of his life and times. In Panderer toPower, author Frederick J. Sheehan deliversthe first in-depth, critical biography of theman who, for nearly two decades, served as theworld’s most powerful banker.
Beginning with Greenspan’s formative yearsas a Depression-era kid from New York City,Sheehan traces his subject’s progress fromhis days touring America as a reed man withthe Henry Jerome Orchestra in the 1940sthrough his emergence as one of America’sfirst celebrity economists to his ascentthrough the ranks of power in D.C.
What emerges is a searing portrait of ashameless media hound who ferociously promotedhis image as a straight-laced numberscruncher, a Machiavelli whose political skillsfar surpassed his skills as an economist.
Drawing upon a vast array of original sources,the author leaves little room for doubt: eitherthe “economic genius of our time” was obliviousto the hazards of his irresponsible policydecisions or he knew full well what he was doing,but chose, as he had throughout his career,to put self-interest above the public good.
