William McChesney Martin Jr. (no relation to me, as far as I know) is an important figure in US history. He led the Federal Reserve System from 1951 to 1970, successfully defending its independence in five administrations. This is the first, and to date the only, book-length biography of him. Of course, the Fed's business is monetary policy, a dizzyingly abstruse subject. But Robert P. Bremner explains it so lucidly that even I, with only a rudimentary knowledge of economics, was able to understand it.
When the Fed's monetary policy goes wrong, the consequences are stark: failed businesses, lost jobs, lost savings. Not only do abstractions like GDP or CPI elicit consternation, but real people around the country suffer crushing reverses. By the same token, monetary policy is designed and carried out by real people with real supporters and opponents, families and careers, principles and ambitions. Robert P. Bremner draws adequate sketches of the main characters in William McChesney Martin's life and work, but I wish he'd rounded them out a bit more. In particular I think he's too nonjudgmental about Martin's opponents.
To appreciate Martin's virtues, however, it's not necessary to contrast them with his opponents' vices. Bremner recounts Martin's mistakes as well as his successes--indeed, Martin himself in 1970 took the blame for failing to avert what he called "the wildest inflation since the Civil War." But the human being and public servant who emerges from these pages is unfailingly dedicated, courageous--and honest. Those were the days.
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