The Federal Reserve is a uniquely American institution, although at times it seems to be one of those British=type shadowy government groups that show up in James Bond movies. It is probably among the most powerful, and least understood, of any part of the American government. Peter Conti-Brown makes an attempt to explain this organization.

=== The Good Stuff ===

* The book has every opportunity in the world to be dry and dull. The Fed lives at the intersection of government, economics, banking, and monetary policy, any one of which is capable of being inducing sleep all by itself. Conti-Brown's writing style will never be John Grisham, but he does a great job of keeping the pages turning. The text does not get bogged down in detail or arcane language, and is certainly rewarding to read.

* So much of how the Fed works is "informal", meaning that its power is often expressed through unofficial channels, indirect pressure, and carefully orchestrated communications with the financial world. The author explains how much of this works, and how it came about by examining the history of the Fed.

* In the end, you can't help but be amazed at how well the modern Fed has served our economy, and how much of its capability and authority seem to have been almost "accidental" rather that having been carefully planned.

=== The Not-So-Good Stuff ===

* As you might expect, Conti-Brown struggles a bit with how detailed and technical to make the book. I suppose that without really trying too hard, this book could be anywhere from 100 to 1000 pages, depending on how detailed the content was. At times, I found myself wanting more or less detail, but overall it was a pretty good mix.

=== Summary ===

If you have any interest at all in how the Federal Reserve works, this is about as good a book on the subject as you will find. After reading it, you will not be qualified to serve on the Board of Governors, but you will certainly know more than the average American, and probably more than half the talking heads on television, about a very important part of our monetary system.