Enjoy fast, FREE delivery, exclusive deals and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery

FREE Returns

FREE delivery Friday, August 4

Or fastest delivery Thursday, August 3. Order within 16 hrs 10 mins

Select delivery location

In Stock

$$37.00 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Payment

Secure transaction

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Details

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.

Read full return policy

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

$3.99 delivery August 7 - 11. Details

Select delivery location

Used: Good | Details

Sold by Thebestbooks

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$32.82
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: allnewbooks

Added

Not added

$36.82
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: GrandEagleRetail

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the Author

Allan H. Meltzer

A History of the Federal Reserve, Volume 1: 1913-1951

by Allan H. Meltzer (Author)

4.5 30 ratings

Part of: A History of the Federal Reserve (3 books)

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$26.99

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$99.95

—

$22.38

Paperback

"Please retry"

$37.00

$32.82

$27.98

Kindle
$26.99 Read with Our Free App
Hardcover
$99.95

8 Used from $22.38 1 Collectible from $48.79
Paperback
$27.98 - $37.00

9 Used from $27.98 17 New from $32.82

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$37.00","priceAmount":37.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"37","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"vRO%2BO%2F68qCfnsQDKOvu8FeCNY53yXqrjOA80GGYAle7nIDfjoSWJWQXQbaeOkglrEM8Nc3iKwsD6rKtmeODcDKr4AzyS%2B3IZyQugBoYs7kHMgKAIz%2F4LJOMLeNy5ctfsSeieCj9D8rE%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$27.98","priceAmount":27.98,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"27","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"98","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"vRO%2BO%2F68qCfnsQDKOvu8FeCNY53yXqrj5ZNPd9XB25X0GWiytis%2BHDz8AIeQpYv%2BUsl8VvlZDNOJ8m16WeyZRabc0bcwVUn6FJgEsdH8nK2IwgK6%2BypDxbQrfEsC9LTqDCDOqw2tFKdNUUgGUDvd8nxDraeJjkPT0eivmibqsC5C7hkkOM%2F1urpXXCPG6T98","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Allan H. Meltzer's monumental history of the Federal Reserve System tells the story of one of America's most influential but least understood public institutions. This first volume covers the period from the Federal Reserve's founding in 1913 through the Treasury-Federal Reserve Accord of 1951, which marked the beginning of a larger and greatly changed institution.

To understand why the Federal Reserve acted as it did at key points in its history, Meltzer draws on meeting minutes, correspondence, and other internal documents (many made public only during the 1970s) to trace the reasoning behind its policy decisions. He explains, for instance, why the Federal Reserve remained passive throughout most of the economic decline that led to the Great Depression, and how the Board's actions helped to produce the deep recession of 1937 and 1938. He also highlights the impact on the institution of individuals such as Benjamin Strong, governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the 1920s, who played a key role in the adoption of a more active monetary policy by the Federal Reserve. Meltzer also examines the influence the Federal Reserve has had on international affairs, from attempts to build a new international financial system in the 1920s to the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944 that established the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and the failure of the London Economic Conference of 1933.

Written by one of the world's leading economists, this magisterial biography of the Federal Reserve and the people who helped shape it will interest economists, central bankers, historians, political scientists, policymakers, and anyone seeking a deep understanding of the institution that controls America's purse strings.

"It was 'an unprecedented orgy of extravagance, a mania for speculation, overextended business in nearly all lines and in every section of the country.' An Alan Greenspan rumination about the irrational exuberance of the late 1990s? Try the 1920 annual report of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve. . . . To understand why the Fed acted as it did—at these critical moments and many others—would require years of study, poring over letters, the minutes of meetings and internal Fed documents. Such a task would naturally deter most scholars of economic history but not, thank goodness, Allan Meltzer."—Wall Street Journal

"A seminal work that anyone interested in the inner workings of the U. S. central bank should read. A work that scholars will mine for years to come."—John M. Berry, Washington Post

"An exceptionally clear story about why, as the ideas that actually informed policy evolved, things sometimes went well and sometimes went badly. . . . One can only hope that we do not have to wait too long for the second installment."—David Laidler, Journal of Economic Literature

"A thorough narrative history of a high order. Meltzer's analysis is persuasive and acute. His work will stand for a generation as the benchmark history of the world's most powerful economic institution. It is an impressive, even awe-inspiring achievement."—Sir Howard Davies, Times Higher Education Supplement

ISBN-10

0226520005
ISBN-13

978-0226520001
Publisher

University of Chicago Press
Publication date

June 1, 2004
Part of series

A History of the Federal Reserve
Language

English
Dimensions

6 x 1.9 x 9 inches
Print length

808 pages
See all details

Frequently bought together

A History of the Federal Reserve, Volume 1: 1913-1951

$37.00

Get it as soon as Friday, Aug 4

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

+

A History of the Federal Reserve, Volume 2, Book 2, 1970-1986

$33.97

Get it as soon as Friday, Aug 4

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

+

A History of the Federal Reserve, Volume 2, Book 1, 1951-1969

$38.00

Get it as soon as Friday, Aug 4

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Try again!

Details

Added to Cart

Choose items to buy together.

Highest ratedin this set of products
Allan H. Meltzer
17
Paperback
$33.97
Lowest Pricein this set of products
Alan Greenspan
660
Hardcover
$9.00
Most purchasedin this set of products
Edward Chancellor
418
Hardcover
in Economic Inflation
$24.49
This item:
Allan H. Meltzer
30
Paperback
$37.00
Allan H. Meltzer
13
Paperback
$38.00
Alan S. Blinder
119
Hardcover
$31.99
Ben S. Bernanke
280
Hardcover
$20.97
Roger Lowenstein
386
Paperback
$15.37
Milton Friedman
106
Paperback
$59.99
Robert L. Hetzel
9
Hardcover
$41.43
William Greider
224
Hardcover
73 offers from $2.85

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Allan H. Meltzer's monumental history of the Federal Reserve System tells the story of one of America's most influential but least understood public institutions. This first volume covers the period from the Federal Reserve's founding in 1913 through the Treasury-Federal Reserve Accord of 1951, which marked the beginning of a larger and greatly changed institution.

To understand why the Federal Reserve acted as it did at key points in its history, Meltzer draws on meeting minutes, correspondence, and other internal documents (many made public only during the 1970s) to trace the reasoning behind its policy decisions. He explains, for instance, why the Federal Reserve remained passive throughout most of the economic decline that led to the Great Depression, and how the Board's actions helped to produce the deep recession of 1937 and 1938. He also highlights the impact on the institution of individuals such as Benjamin Strong, governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the 1920s, who played a key role in the adoption of a more active monetary policy by the Federal Reserve. Meltzer also examines the influence the Federal Reserve has had on international affairs, from attempts to build a new international financial system in the 1920s to the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944 that established the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and the failure of the London Economic Conference of 1933.

Written by one of the world's leading economists, this magisterial biography of the Federal Reserve and the people who helped shape it will interest economists, central bankers, historians, political scientists, policymakers, and anyone seeking a deep understanding of the institution that controls America's purse strings.

From the Back Cover

Allan H. Meltzer's monumental history of the Federal Reserve System tells the story of one of America's most influential but least understood public institutions. This first volume covers the period from the Federal Reserve's founding in 1913 through the Treasury-Federal Reserve Accord of 1951, which marked the beginning of a larger and greatly changed institution.

To understand why the Federal Reserve acted as it did at key points in its history, Meltzer draws on meeting minutes, correspondence, and other internal documents (many made public only during the 1970s) to trace the reasoning behind its policy decisions. He explains, for instance, why the Federal Reserve remained passive throughout most of the economic decline that led to the Great Depression, and how the Board's actions helped to produce the deep recession of 1937 and 1938. He also highlights the impact on the institution of individuals such as Benjamin Strong, governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the 1920s, who played a key role in the adoption of a more active monetary policy by the Federal Reserve. Meltzer also examines the influence the Federal Reserve has had on international affairs, from attempts to build a new international financial system in the 1920s to the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944 that established the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and the failure of the London Economic Conference of 1933.

Written by one of the world's leading economists, this magisterial biography of the Federal Reserve and the people who helped shape it will interest economists, central bankers, historians, political scientists, policymakers, and anyone seeking a deep understanding of the institution that controls America's purse strings.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Chicago Press (June 1, 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 808 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0226520005
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0226520001
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.9 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,033,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #514 in Government Management
- #726 in Banks & Banking (Books)
- #2,061 in Economic History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 30 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

Important information

To report an issue with this product, click here.

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Allan H. Meltzer

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Allan H. Meltzer is Allan H. Meltzer University Professor of Political Economy at Carnegie Mellon University. He is the author of "A History of the Federal Reserve," Volumes 1 and 2.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

30 global ratings

5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Comprehensive, but could have used an editor

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 6, 2010

Verified Purchase

In modern scholarly publishing, the author is largely on his own. If the book is to read smoothly and be free of errors, it's pretty much up to the author -- or the author's friends and colleagues -- to do the careful proofreading required, especially in a book of this length. Perhaps not too surprisingly, Meltzer having finished the prodigious labor of writing this volume -- and with two more lengthy volumes still to write! -- did not, in fact, do much proofreading. Honestly, this book is what in an earlier day would have been seen as a first draft. A monumental, incredibly well researched first draft, but a first draft nonetheless. As a result, there a significant number of typos or small errors. To take one of many, the large New York City bank that failed in October 1930 was the Bank of United States, not the Bank of the United States, as Meltzer has it. The reasons why the bank's founders dropped the "the" in the bank's name is actually a significant story, albeit one that Meltzer omits.

Apart from these minor blemishes, the apparent failure to significantly revise the manuscript results in problems with the narrative flow. It's not just that the level of detail is a bit excessive or the discussion often drifts from the main point -- a failing noted by one of the other reviewers -- but people and incidents are discussed on one page, dropped, and then picked up again dozens of pages later with the reader expected to have perfect recall of the earlier mention. This problem is made worse by the fact that the index is rather sketchy. So, trying to find the earlier reference to a person or incident is difficult. These are things a good editor would have caught, if Meltzer had had one.

Leaving these points aside -- and they aren't trivial because they significantly reduce the readability of the book -- Meltzer's history is as definitive as we are ever likely to get. Anyone who writes about the early history of the Fed will have to take Meltzer into account.

15 people found this helpful

Helpful

Tien

Insightful and Entertaining (for us geeks)

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 17, 2014

Verified Purchase

My History of Economics professor gave the students a list of books to read and report on at the end of the semester. Each student chose one book, with no one reporting on the same title. Without knowing much about the book, I chose this one. Upon telling the professor and class my choice, the professor said "Really? That one? Hmmm...it is very dry and a difficult read. I even debated putting it on the list".

Being overwhelmed that semester, I was ready to choose another title. However, before I could reply he stated, "Ah, your smart. You will do fine...". I was stuck so I made the best of it. After starting the book, I soon came to realize it was not boring or dry. I absolutely loved it. As an economics student and geek, I am highly intrigued by the Federal Reserve and the amount of power they posses by controlling our monetary system. For better or worse, the Federal Reserve is powerful and this book provided immense insight. Of particular note was the insight regarding the rational behind the decisions made during the great depression. Contrasting these actions with the actions taken by the Federal Reserve following the 2008 crisis provides for an amazing comparison and study of the effectiveness of monetary policy, political power, and public opinion. For student readers, if you simply desire to pass your course doing the bare minimum, do not read this book if provided an option. However, if you enjoy economics and get a little geeky like I do over monetary policy, this is a superb read.

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

adsmlt39

I believe Hammond's later work was affected by bad health. Again

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 26, 2017

Verified Purchase

There is a very short list of reliable histories of The Federal Reserve Bank of U.S. One other is a multi-volume history by Bray Hammond. Hammond's first volume is required reading on the subject. After that his work is short and lacking economic insight. I believe Hammond's later work was affected by bad health. Again, Meltzer is both authoritative and a good read.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Amanbir Singh Grewal

Book review

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 29, 2020

Verified Purchase

Just the book I was looking for. Very voluminous but a good read anyway. Recommended.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 28, 2015

Verified Purchase

Really requires a strong knowledge of economic principles.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 19, 2015

Verified Purchase

I couldn't put it down.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

James W Butler Jr

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 10, 2015

Excellent series.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 11, 2003

This much heralded account of the Federal Reserve is justly lauded in academic circles because Meltzer brings forth many Fed documents which have long been buried away and unavailable to scholars. He is able to pursue step-by-step Fed actions and relate what happened in all those many meetings behind closed doors. Through the mass of information he has uncovered and his own in-depth knowledge of monetary policy and the Fed, he is able to bring new facts to light and correct previous interpretations that are more often than not those of Friedman and Schwartz's A Monetary History of the United States.
The weaknesses of Meltzer's book stem from his massive archive of information and the strength of his predecessors. The sheer volume of information he is trying to convey prompts the narrative to drift and the reader sometimes loses the point. And, as a good academic historian, he is engaged in a dialogue with other historians of the Fed and monetary policy that can push the layman to the sidelines. Meltzer's history assumes the reader has a rather advanced knowledge of economics and finance such as an understanding of the real bills doctrine and the operation of an international gold standard. Also, the charts and tables are often not very helpful in understanding the text or at least could have been presented in a better manner.
Overall, Meltzer does not produce any stunning revelations but a great many correctives to previous accounts and much added detail. The novice to the history of US monetary policy would do better to read Richard Timberlake's book (though taken with a grain of salt because of its conservative leanings) or the classic work by Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz.

67 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Gianantonio Bissaro

Classic of monetary history - recommended

Reviewed in Italy 🇮🇹 on January 24, 2017

Verified Purchase

This is really a must read for people interested in monetary policy. A classic, even if not a bedside book (you could quickly start snoring).

See more reviews

Amazon Music Stream millions of songs	Amazon Advertising Find, attract, and engage customers	6pm Score deals on fashion brands	AbeBooks Books, art & collectibles	ACX Audiobook Publishing Made Easy	Sell on Amazon Start a Selling Account

Amazon Business Everything For Your Business	Amazon Fresh Groceries & More Right To Your Door	AmazonGlobal Ship Orders Internationally	Home Services Experienced Pros Happiness Guarantee	Amazon Ignite Sell your original Digital Educational Resources	Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services

Audible Listen to Books & Original Audio Performances	Book Depository Books With Free Delivery Worldwide	Box Office Mojo Find Movie Box Office Data	ComiXology Thousands of Digital Comics	DPReview Digital Photography	Fabric Sewing, Quilting & Knitting

Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations	IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities	IMDbPro Get Info Entertainment Professionals Need	Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital & Print Publishing Made Easy	Amazon Photos Unlimited Photo Storage Free With Prime	Prime Video Direct Video Distribution Made Easy

Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands	Amazon Warehouse Great Deals on Quality Used Products	Whole Foods Market America’s Healthiest Grocery Store	Woot! Deals and Shenanigans	Zappos Shoes & Clothing	Ring Smart Home Security Systems

eero WiFi Stream 4K Video in Every Room	Blink Smart Security for Every Home	Neighbors App Real-Time Crime & Safety Alerts	Amazon Subscription Boxes Top subscription boxes – right to your door	PillPack Pharmacy Simplified	Amazon Renewed Like-new products you can trust