The Poetry of Alan Greenspan: Recorded Rather Painstakingly, but Nevertheless with Adequate Regard for the Author's Central Thrust [Paperback]

Fontana Rich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 2000

What would the poetry of Alan Greenspan sound like? Find out now. A humorous view from 30,000 feet as the chairman offers his views on love, the economy, existence, politics and history, technology, and more. You'll never be able to read the newspaper with a straight face again!What was the Chairman thinking when he proposed to his wife, Andrea Mitchell? What relationship does he see between love and the movement of interest rates? Why does he talk so obtusely? What does it feel like to ponder raising interest rates? What is it like to survey the entire world economy, and pull the levers that make it run? You'll get the long view of a man who can jump from the tools of cavemen to the Internet in a single couplet. What does the Chairman think of the Internet, the IPO phenomenon, round the clock trading, the Wealth Effect, Bill Clinton's personal problems, Big Brother, Internet hackers and the national debt? Best yet, the Chairman is also a musician. It turns out he loves to sing about the economy using popular songs you'll recognize, but with lyrics that address such issues as global exchange rates, the consumer price index and the balanced budget amendment. If you can read between the lines to see the humor in the business world, if you've ever laughed at a Dilbert cartoon, the Chairman will make you laugh out loud-in a bull or bear market.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rich Fontana can't get over how funny the business section of the newspaper is every day. He has held marketing jobs at Avon Products, and has run his own advertising/promotion agency for 10 years, with clients such as American Express, Citibank, The Thomson Corporation, General Foods, Times Mirror Magazines, US Surgical Corporation, The Conference Board. He has written widely on business and authored the 1996 American Express Survey of Business Travel Management.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (May 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595096441
• ISBN-13: 978-0595096442
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,287,393 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Stick to Greenspan's Own Words, March 11, 2010

By 

Lynne Pierson Doti "substantial favorites" (Orange County, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Poetry of Alan Greenspan: Recorded Rather Painstakingly, but Nevertheless with Adequate Regard for the Author's Central Thrust (Paperback)

This was absolute nonsense. I think the plan was to mimic Greenspan's speeches as Fed Chairman. Reading Greenspan's testimony before Congress would have been more entertaining and would give the reader respect for his ability to chose his words carefully most of the time. This was a hard-won ability as evidenced by his few notorious mistakes (remember "irrational exuberence"?). It was also an ability that was necessitated by the fact that the world listened to and believed what this man said. There aren't many people like that in the world.

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite profound actually when you can stop laughing, August 6, 2003

By 

Stephen Herzfeld (Pompano Beach, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Poetry of Alan Greenspan: Recorded Rather Painstakingly, but Nevertheless with Adequate Regard for the Author's Central Thrust (Paperback)

Chairman Greenspan and his pronouncements have intruigued me for many years now.

I mean how many of us, even with a good education pronounce rather than simply say things. It is a lost artform and Chairman Greenspan may be our last chance at reviving it.

Mr. Fontana manages to elucidate this inscutable fellow in a dry and entertaining manner which has eluded a generation of news commentators (all of them I now presume simply don't have a properly developed appreciation of poetry).

Since it is unlikely that the major networks will soon hire Mr. Fontana to offer simultaneous translation of Chairman Greenspan for the masses any time soon, I believe it wise, prudent and indeed necessary to purchase this book.

The only reasonable alternative is to pick your investment strategy by throwing darts at the stock quotes or if you can afford it buying a monkey and giving him (or her) an e-trade account.