The Fed is one of the most important if least understand institutions in US public life. It's decisions have global consquences, its independence vital to the modern global economy.

In this book Naclerio outlines the unknown origin of the Fed and the key players (bankers, financiers, and economists) that help to deisgn and shape its work. The focus is very much on seven men who met in secret to draft the Federal Reserve Act.

It strikes me as a very impressive work of economic and financial history. It is clear that a huge amount of research and work went into this project and I would recommend for anyone interested in the history of banking. A good compliment to the masterful Lords of Finance.

I really felt that a little bit of background regarding the banking industry would be helpful when I started to delve into the Great Depression so seeing this book about the Federal Reserve I thought would be a good fit.
It may well have been however, the writing was such that unless I needed to read this book for credit to receive a Masters in Economics or Finance there was no way that I was going to plunge through it. I really tried, however, it appeared that the writer was trying to show how many 4 syllable words he could fit into each sentence. When even 2 or 3 syllable words were unknown to me and I spent more time using the dictionary than actually reading the book, I knew it was time to abandon it. My Vocabulary may have increased a bit, my knowledge of the Federal Reserve did not.

Definitely not for the casual reader.

This is a thoroughly researched and well written volume about an important part of our government which provides the underpinnings for our financial system but is little known or understood. This book makes a great contribution to the understanding of the Federal Reserve System.

Richard Naclerio does a SUPERB job with this book! Some may find the prospect of reading a book about the Federal Reserve daunting, but I assure you that this book is extremely well-researched but also very reader-friendly. Without being too technical, the author gives us a wonderful historical lesson of the “genesis” of the Federal Reserve as well as the effects it’s had over the course of many years. I came away with a better understanding of money and the federal banking industry. Definitely recommend to anyone with an interest in American history and politics!!