The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Federal Reserve (Paperback)

~ Lita; Martin, Preston Epstein (Author) "The media portrays the Federal Reserve (often called the Fed) as the all-powerful, secretive government institution with total control over the economy..." (more)
Key Phrases: federal funds rate, discount window, United States, Economic Wisdom, Money Meanings (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 356 pages
• Publisher: Alpha; 1st edition (2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028643232
• ISBN-13: 978-0028643236
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #774,585 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Touches on everything, but not deeply, January 15, 2005

By	Jeffery Steele (Taipei, Taiwan) - See all my reviews

This book goes into a tremendous amount of detail on several subjects I simply had no interest in. If you want to get a job at the Fed, for example, this book has an entire chapter dedicated to just that. How about developing our communities? Because the Federal Reserve Board is required by law to promote local economic development, there is a chapter on this as well. Would you like to know if we Americans are saving enough? No worries. Since the Federal Reserve helps member banks develop consumer education programs, there is a chapter on savings, too.

For the general reader, where this book is very helpful is in showing just how many responsibilities the Fed has. There are educational, regulatory, supervisory, as well as the more obvious monetary roles the Fed must play. It, of course, has a national role as America's central bank, but it also has a powerful international role that is less well-known. This book gives an abbreviated history of the institution and America's banking history, and it also has an entire chapter on the circumlocutory way Fed Chairmen express themselves in public (called "Fedspeak").

What the book is less helpful with is detail. Everything is discussed, but nothing is dealt with at even moderate length.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Guide To Understanding The Fed, January 3, 2005

By	Troy Shellhamer (prospect, ky United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book was written by an insider. This is not a bad thing. This book is a great tool to help anyone understand the workings of the Federal Reserve System. Whether or not someone agrees with how the Fed runs itself is a seperate matter from this books intention and who this book was created for. This book does not get into philosophical idealogy of economic systems and it shouldn't. It accurately discusses the tools the Fed uses to help steer the economy in the direction they want it to go. It also explains the layout of the structure of the Fed. This book is good for anyone curious about the structure / tools of the Fed and why it does what it does. The Fed helps run our economy and this book shows how pretty decently. It won't disappoint you, as it is straight-forward and comprehendable. Great for anyone who works in banking / finance / invesments.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Big on paper short on Gold !, February 2, 2008

By	F. Sanzone "I want to know" - See all my reviews

The book was informative in many ways especially in the history of the FED and some of the key historic and contemporary figures. The chapters on FED "Speak" and on whats going on up to 2003 in the US Economy were well done. My big disappointment is with the fact that the authors never mentioned the very historic and monumental event of taking our currency off of the Gold Standard. This one decision alone is a very big part of why we have so many ongoing problems in our economy that need so called "Fixing" by the Fed.
There was mention of Richard Nixon and the Fed Chairman at the time Nixon was in office which is when they made the big decision to dump the gold standard but yet the authors never mention it at all. I can't believe they left this important event out of the book by accident.
I'd like to have an explanation from the authors concerning this gross negligence.