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Published Oct 2015
368 pages
Genre: History, Current Affairs and Religion
Publication Information
A powerful and intelligent story told by one of our most accomplished financial experts.
Until the election of Woodrow Wilson the United States—alone among developed nations - lacked a central bank. Ever since the Revolutionary War, Americans had desperately feared the consequences of centralizing the nation's finances under government control. However, in the aftermath of a disastrous financial panic, Congress was persuaded - by a confluence of populist unrest, widespread mistrust of bankers, ideological divisions, and secretive lobbying - to approve the landmark 1913 Federal Reserve Act.
Writing in a rich and untapped historical vein, Roger Lowenstein - acclaimed financial journalist and bestselling author of When Genius Failed and The End of Wall Street - reveals the drama-filled, unlikely story of how America created the Federal Reserve, thereby taking its first steps onto the world stage as a global financial power. America's Bank showcases Lowenstein at his very finest: illuminating complex financial and political issues with striking clarity, infusing the debates of our past with all the gripping immediacy of today, and painting unforgettable portraits of Gilded Age bankers, presidents, and politicians.
With America's Bank, Lowenstein focuses on the four men at the heart of the drama to create the Federal Reserve. These are Paul Warburg, a refined, German-born financier, recently relocated to New York, who was horrified at America's primitive finances; Rhode Island's Nelson W. Aldrich, the reigning power broker in the U.S. Senate and an archetypal Gilded Age legislator; Carter Glass, the ambitious but little-known Virginia congressman who chaired the House Banking and Currency Committee at a crucial moment of political transition; and, of course, President Woodrow Wilson, who forced Glass to reconcile his deep-seated differences with bankers en route to landmark and controversial legislation which that finally gave America a central bank.
Weaving a slice of American politics together with a storied financial collapse and intrigue at the highest levels of Washington and Wall Street, Lowenstein delivers a gripping historical narrative. America's Bank reveals the improbable origins of the Federal Reserve in a way that will make readers wonder whether they are reading about one hundred years ago or about the still-seething conflicts that mark our discussions of banking and politics today. A powerful and intelligent story told by one of our most accomplished financial experts, America's Bank puts readers into the cockpit at a time of financial turmoil and political transformation, bringing the beginnings of one of the country's most crucial institutions to vivid and unforgettable life.
"Starred Review. Captivating and enlightening, this book brings a pivotal time in American history to life." - Publishers Weekly
"Lowenstein doubts the Federal Reserve Act could be passed in today's volatile political climate, but he provides an unusually lucid history of our nation's central bank." - Kirkus
"Readers seeking a comprehensive history of the Federal Reserve from its conception to modern times will find this work especially appealing." - Library Journal
"America's Bank, Roger Lowenstein's lively account of the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913, resonates today as we debate the conduct of monetary policy and financial regulation." - Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve
"With grace and insight, Lowenstein takes us inside the creation of the Fed, a story of twists, turns - and lessons for our own time." - Jon Meacham, author of Thomas Jefferson and American Lion
"A highly engaging historical account of the personalities and politics behind the creation of the Federal Reserve." - Ben Bernanke, former chairman of the Federal Reserve
" Incisive and brilliantly researched, this is an important and original book about one of the most consequential pieces of legislation in our history with lessons aplenty for today." - Liaquat Ahamed, author of Lords of Finance
"The birth of the Federal Reserve is a fascinating and almost unknown story, with lessons even for today. In the hands of a master storyteller like Roger Lowenstein, it is also a page-turner." - Alan S. Blinder, American economist and the author of After the Music Stopped: The Financial Crisis, the Response, and the Work Ahead
"A masterful story-teller, Lowenstein has made sense of the Federal Reserve System for those of us who never quite understood how it worked or where it came from, and done so in a taut page-turner that is hard to put down." - David Nasaw, author of The Patriarch and Andrew Carnegie
This information about America's Bank was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Roger Lowenstein reported for The Wall Street Journal for more than a decade. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg , The New York Review of Books, Fortune, The New York Times Magazine, and other publications. His books include Buffett, When Genius Failed, Origins of the Crash, While America Aged, and The End of Wall Street. He has three children and lives with his wife in Newton, Massachusetts.
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