The Alchemists: Inside the secret world of central bankers

A great book and well worth the read for its insight into the history of Central Banking and various financial crisis, to its more biographical approach on the three main characters of the modern crash, Bernanke, King and Trichet.It is a great combo of facts about "how it all works" to the gripping story of what has been happening in the last 5 years or so.I would highly recommend.

The book follows three central bankers (FED, ECB and BOE). In its narrative and sequential simplicity it helps the reader to view the events from a spur of the moment perspective which can help even those who don't know much about the topic of central banks better understand what kind of goals these people have in mind and how they go about achieving them.

A very good none technical explanation of human greed and the abuse of mathematics. The basic message repeats the cause of previous crashes: the controls are relaxed and the criminals rob us of the future. The only down side is a lot of repetition.

A great book to read straight after lords of finance, to get the full picture of the evolution of central banking.

Feels more like a compilation of diary entries, and probably is, but quite readable

Excellent book! I simply couldn't put it down! The reporting is great and the writing also good.

Highly relevant in understanding the core dynamics of monetary policy and economics. It reveals the details when financial crisis occurs.

The book is good condition, great content

I was hoping for a book which would be well researched in terms of economic history and monetary theory (like Lords of Finance), which would give an overview over the episodes in central banking that defined it. I was disappointed. The book is one-sided and does not develop a balanced view. For instance, German hyperinflation is described without mentioning the Brüning deflation that led to the rise of Hitler to power in Germany 1933. These austerity policies are conveniently forgotten. It is also conveniently forgotten that Japan undertook a fiscal expansion to counteract the crisis from the start, and deficits increased when the government spending was taken back and/or taxes increased. In the description of the sub-prime crisis nothing is said about predatory lending, central bankers are either displayed as god-like or the greatest idiots on the planet. I do not recommend this book. There are much better books on the recent financial crisis and also historical crises.

Neil Irwin has managed to give a detailed overview of the history of central banks since 1600's. Each of the major events including the Great Depression, Gold standard and the subsequent removal along with late 1990's and the late 2000's has been eloquently captured by the author. I personally loved the depth of information (thanks to the author' research) about the various market participants. Highly recommend reading this book.

Somewhat technical.. but well researched.. author has done a commendable job in simplifying the complexity of financial domain.. however can be made further lighter if legal jargon is simplified too.. and less technical by adding some humane aspect through society-finance matters..overall good.

The delivery was on time.This is a great book, as it is mentioned in the cover it is riveting. This book will change your perspective on central bankers, the way they handled the 2007 recession. Must read.

good, nice seller

Simply just read it,amazing,best account of financial meltdown till date,should win FT-Goldman Sachs BBOTY Award,Neil Irwin is simply awesome,must buy

Worth reading

Amazing book to understand what central bankers do

Great book. Must read

Good quality, delivered in time. Everything as expected. Nothing else to add to this comment section. Seller to be recommended.

Bible to those who want an insight into the working as well as the evolution of the Banking system right from the days of Joan Palmstruch in the 17th Century till 2007 when the Three most Powerful men on the planet came to the rescue of the World Economic System. The book provides a detailed information about the growth of the Banking System, how countries with gigantic economies today like the UK benefitted from such system. The language used in the book to explain the intricate nature of the world economicsand its interdependency is very simple and leaves the reader imagining how different things could have been had certain events not occured in the history of banking.

How central banking evolved and continues to do so, and how intelligent and dedicated central bankers feel their way through a dangerous and ever changing world.

ok

It is a well researched, very well written , accessible, tightly structured and highly informative book. It is an almost ideal companion book for an undergraduate macroeconomics textbook.A major theme of the Alchemists ( good title for a description of the unknown territory central bankers are bound to go into) is how difficult/impossible it is for central bankers to stay independent from politics in times of financial crisis. This independence has in theory to work both ways : resisting to political pressure and refraining from trying to influence politicians. The latter was certainly not respected by the ECB and by the BoE.To give the reader the possibility to master and to chronologically order the wealth of information there are two very useful timelines. One at the beginning of the book and one at the end in the form of a series of pictures.

This is a subject often discussed by people with a limited knowledge of the subject matter. It would be helpful to all who debate these issues including resolutions to the global recession to increase their knowledge base in a meaningful way.