From the Back Cover
PRAISE FOR INFLATED
"A thorough, highly readable history of the politics that have controlled banking, currency, monetary gold, and government debt since the founding. I am going to put Inflated on the short list of books that are given to our new traders and analysts."
--PAUL TUDOR JONES II
"From the revolutionary-era origins of the national debt, through Civil War era greenbacks, New Deal deficit finance, and Richard Nixon's severing of the dollar's link to gold, Chris Whalen's Inflated offers a wry, often comical account of America's long, crisis-prone love affair with inflation, debt, and the amazing dwindling dollar. His take-no-prisoners account of our latest financial crisis brings the story close to home. So does his timely conclusion: Americans must either find their way back to fiscal sanity and real, investment-driven growth, or risk a financial debacle that could make the 'Crash of 2008--2009' seem like the good old days."
--BOB REYNOLDS, Chief Executive Officer, Putnam Investments
"Chris Whalen leads a fast and insightful tour through the historical and current battlefields of U.S. fiscal and financial class warfare. A fascinating and rewarding read."
--EDWARD J. KANE, Boston College
"Chris Whalen is already famous for his stellar work articulated in his bank rating service and in the Institutional Risk Analyst. This book captures another dimension. He uses his family history, which starts in the Nixon administration. He embellishes on his personal interviews with prominent persons like Paul Volcker and Josh Rosner. His book documents the 'too big to fail' syndrome. Finally, he presents a view of the future and articulates what the confluence of central banking, government fiscal policy, and market vigilantes must confront ahead."
--DAVID R. KOTOK, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer, Cumberland Advisors
"In the Rothbardian tradition, Christopher Whalen fingers the bad guys and follows the money in his fast-paced history detailing the U.S. government's continual monetary debauchery. For those wanting the real story of why America teeters on the edge of a financial cliff, Inflated is the book to read."
--DOUGLAS FRENCH, President, Ludwig von Mises Institute
R. CHRISTOPHER WHALEN is cofounder and Managing Director of Institutional Risk Analytics, a Torrance, California, bank rating agency and consulting firm. He is editor of IRA's popular newsletter, the Institutional Risk Analyst, and heads IRA's advisory practice. Whalen is among one of the most frequently quoted financial analysts in the United States and appears regularly on Bloomberg, CNBC, and National Public Radio. He worked for the U.S. House of Representatives, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as a Mexico analyst during the 1990s, and as an investment banker for firms such as Bear Stearns & Co., and Prudential Securities. During his three decades as an investment banker and writer, Whalen contributed to publications such as Barron's, American Banker, the New York Times, Financial Times, and many others. He has testified before both the U.S. Congress and the Securities and Exchange Commission on issues ranging from financial regulation to OTC derivatives to XBRL to the federal rescue of GMAC. For more information, visit www.rcwhalen.com.
