"The definitive history of the central bank and monetary policy in the United States.... Every student of the American economy during the period of this account will find something of interest here, and anyone seeking to fathom the 'big picture' of economic policy during these years will be greatly enlightened by reading this extraordinary work of scholarship." (Business History Review) "Monumental." (Barron's) "A seminal work that anyone interested in the inner workings of the US central bank should read." (Washington Post) "To understand why the Fed acted as it did-at these critical moments and many others-would require years of study, poring over letters, the minutes of meetings and internal Fed documents. Such a task would naturally deter most scholars of economic history but not, thank goodness, Meltzer." (Wall Street Journal)"