Sebastian Mallaby's incisive biography of Alan Greenspan 'The Man Who Knew'
Former Washington Post columnist and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Sebastian Mallaby‘s biography of Alan Greenspan has generated exceptional coverage and reviews since its release on October 11.
The book explores Greenspan’s image as a hero/villain of the global economy and, most importantly, delves into whether Greenspan foresaw the financial crash in 2008 but refused to act. In a nuanced and thought-provoking read, Mallaby speculates as to whether a different man in the same position could have prevented the economic crisis. The book has been shortlisted for the Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award.
About the book:
Sebastian Mallaby brilliantly shows the subtlety and complexity of Alan Greenspan’s legacy. Full of beautifully rendered high-octane political infighting, hard-hitting dialogue and stories, The Man Who Knew is superbly researched, enormously gripping and the story of the making of modern finance.
“The Man Who Knew” is a tour de force, the story not just of Alan Greenspan’s career but equally of America’s economic triumphs and failures over five decades. This carefully researched and elegantly written book will be essential reading for those who aspire to make policy and for anyone who wants to divine what drives the choices that our leaders make.” – Professor Randall Kroszner, Wall Street Journal
“Mr. Greenspan is a fascinating subject because for so long he was considered a genius, only to later be blamed for the financial crisis. Mr. Mallaby does an exquisite job going beyond these two versions of the Greenspan narrative and taking the reader inside the complicated mind of a man who may have had one of the largest ever influences over our economy.” – Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times
“A fascinating and balanced study of arguably the most important figure of the post-war global financial scene.” – Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, 2003–2013
Reviews:
“Sebastian Mallaby’s Biography Shows That Alan Greenspan Foresaw the Housing Crisis. Why Didn’t He Act?” in the Wall Street Journal
“Man in the dock: Was Alan Greenspan to blame for the financial crisis?” in The Economist
“The Greenspan effect: could he have done more to avert crisis?” in the Financial Times
“A Reading List of Tell-Alls, Strategic Plans and Cautionary Tales in Finance” in The New York Times
Events:
Sebastian Mallaby – The Man Who Knew: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan at Politics & Prose bookstore (Oct 17)
Systemic Risk Centre public lecture at London School of Economics (Nov 7)
Speaking:
Sebastian is available for keynotes and events worldwide, simply contact us if you’d like to know more about Sebastian’s topics, books or availability.
Watch >> Sebastian discuss systemic risk with The Economist
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