In FED We Trust

Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic

By: David Wessel

Narrated by: Dan Woren

“Whatever it takes”

That was Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s vow as the worst financial panic in more than fifty years gripped the world and he struggled to avoid the once unthinkable: a repeat of the Great Depression. Brilliant but temperamentally cautious, Bernanke researched and wrote about the causes of the Depression during his career as an academic. Then when thrust into a role as one of the most important people in the world, he was compelled to boldness by circumstances he never anticipated.

The president of the United States can respond instantly to a missile attack with America’s military might, but he cannot respond to a financial crisis with real money unless Congress acts. The Fed chairman can. Bernanke did. Under his leadership the Fed spearheaded the biggest government intervention in more than half a century and effectively became the fourth branch of government, with no direct accountability to the nation’s voters.

Believing that the economic catastrophe of the 1930s was largely the fault of a sluggish and wrongheaded Federal Reserve, Bernanke was determined not to repeat that epic mistake. In this penetrating look inside the most powerful economic institution in the world, David Wessel illuminates its opaque and undemocratic inner workings, while revealing how the Bernanke Fed led the desperate effort to prevent the world’s financial engine from grinding to a halt.

In piecing together the fullest, most authoritative, and alarming picture yet of this decisive moment in our nation’s history, In Fed We Trust answers the most critical questions. Among them:

• What did Bernanke and his team at the Fed know–and what took them by surprise? Which of their actions stretched–or even ripped through–the Fed’s legal authority? Which chilling numbers and indicators made them feel they had no choice?

• What were they thinking at pivotal moments during the race to sell Bear Stearns, the unsuccessful quest to save Lehman Brothers, and the virtual nationalization of AIG, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac? What were they saying to one another when, as Bernanke put it to Wessel: “We came very close to Depression 2.0”?

• How well did Bernanke, former treasury secretary Hank Paulson, and then New York Fed president Tim Geithner perform under intense pressure?

• How did the crisis prompt a reappraisal of the once-impregnable reputation of Alan Greenspan?

In Fed We Trust is a breathtaking and singularly perceptive look at a historic episode in American and global economic history.

Critic reviews

“...gives a revealing blow-by-blow account of the recent financial crisis”
—David Brooks, The New York Times

“...essential, lucid—and, it turns out, riveting—reading."
—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

“...a tale that’s nothing short of hair-raising..reveals in scary detail how unprepared politicians and regulators truly were...”
—Paul M Barrett, The New York Times Book Review

“Wessel delivers an engrossing account of Bernanke's improvisational responses to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.”
—Fortune Magazine

“... so far the most entertaining and most readable book on the financial crisis.”
—Tyler Cowen, marginalrevolution.com

“...persuasively told and richly reported... It will win awards and inspire copycats.”
—BusinessWeek

"David Wessel brings his deep knowledge of the Federal Reserve and U.S. politics and economics to a topic that will be studied by historians for decades to come...No one can understand what happened and what did not happen without reading this book."
–Joseph E. Stiglitz, winner of the Nobel Prize in economics and author of Globalization and its Discontents

Facinating and Informative

Dan Worens narration was fabulous. His voice is very pleasing to the ear. He changes tone when quoting making him him a pleasure to listen to. Thank you Audible.

Stops boldly at the surface

This book is rich in the history of events and background characters. Glad I read it but was left feeling that there should have been more depth and analysis into the meaning of it all and the implications for our economy. Certainly mentioned possible conflict in interests for some of the players but didn't deal with the implications of those conflicts. Didn't do much to explore the legitimacy of Shiela Bair's desire to preserve the integrity of the FDIC and seemed to give a heroic quality to the "whatever it takes" approach to rewriting the rule book on the fly. So what if the next Fed chairman is less agile or innovative? What about a government of laws?

Ben saves the world

What did you love best about In Fed We Trust?

Good description of how the different Fed actors work together.

Which character – as performed by Dan Woren – was your favorite?

The book was narrative, so no characters are performed.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The book really gives you a sense of how much the financial system froze up during 2008 and 2009 and how much the Fed and other agencies had to do to save Wall street from itself.

Wow

This book had tons of facts and anecdotes I knew nothing about, such as the time the fed chairman slept on his couch.

adequate but not very informative

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The author was trying to be unbiased but did not do very well. It did provide great background and insight to the activities surrounding the crisis, and in that regard was very worth listening to. However, It fell short on analysis of the specific plans the FED enacted and their conseqeunces.

Would you be willing to try another book from David Wessel? Why or why not?

No. Looking for a more impartial voice.

What three words best describe Dan Woren’s voice?

Smooth, understandable.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No