Timothy F. Geithner

I think I've read most of the books available about the financial crisis of 2008, and still only have a superficial understanding of the cause and long term effects. Many were written in the immediate collapse of the Wall Street firms, and I thought Geithner's book, "Stress Test" might add additional perspective by looking back over time to judge the effectiveness of steps taken by the Government and the Fed to prevent a full depression.

Proponents of the Wall Street Bailout and the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) claim​ that saving those banks was absolutely required to prevent a full depression, with even worse consequences. Most of the money has since been re-payed, so the taxpayer burden was minor, especially when thinking that tens of millions of jobs may have been lost without that action being taken, not to mention the millions of additional homes which would have been foreclosed upon. Also, at this point in time, the economy has basically recovered, and unemployment rates have returned to pre-2008 levels.

On the other hand, critics point out that we've fixed nothing, and those big banks are bigger than ever, still make risky decisions, and remain "to big to fail", meaning without reform, we'll face this same crisis again in the future, with probable harder choices to make. It remains uncertain if the similar threats to the economy in the future have been prevented. Many people bristle at the thought of more regulations, but I didn't get the sense from Geithner's book that that Dodd-Frank reforms were adequate to prevent another similar crisis, especially as bank lobbies strive to chip away at its requirements.

But these two perspectives, and unprovable arguments, are what make thos Thanksgiving dinner discussion with your crazy uncle so interesting. Both sides can be argued well after desert and coffee have been served. Geithner, for his part, being part of the "fix", obviously has his opinion, which he shares in his book. What I liked about the book is his openness and clarity about the choices ​the ​financial advisors in ​both ​the Bush and Obama Administrations had to make. Choices were hard, outcome uncertain, and previous comparable experiences mostly irrelevant. Geithner tells his side of the story as to how and why those tough choices were made.… (más)

Pretty good listen. I thought Geithner came off very well in it - smart, caring, reasonable, and modest. While I've probably read enough on the financial crisis, there wasn't as much new there, I don't think I appreciated his role in (or had seen his perspective on the value of) the stress test. Everything else seemed to largely mesh with where my less educated views have landed, so that was gratifying. Maybe would have been only a four star to read, but as an audiobook it moved along at a decent pace and I liked that he read it himself so I got to hear him tell about the events in his own voice.… (más)

Sensational ... Tim's book will forever be the definitive work on what causes financial panics and what must be done to stem them when they occur. -- Warren Buffett Deals with issues far bigger than anything on the Man Booker long list. -- Anne Ashworth The Times Stress Test is an absolutely compelling account of the financial crisis, written in a clear, graceful style with striking honesty at every step along the way. -- Doris Kearns Goodwin This is a lucid, fascinating, and extremely important book ... Geithner does something unusual: he engages in substance. With both insight and humility, plus a good dose of wry humor, he explains what really happened during the financial crisis. No matter your political persuasion, you will find this book educational, enlightening, and interesting. -- Walter Isaacson A fascinating memoir about life in the maelstrom of the financial crisis ... Earlier books have described much of what happened that September, but Geithner was present for all the frantic meetings, the thousands of phone calls - and in the case of Lehman, the failure to find a buyer that could keep it alive. New problems cropped up almost weekly, if not daily. He explains each in easy-to-understand language and what the issues were that shaped the responses... There could be another crisis someday, of course, but what Geithner and his colleagues did has made one far less likely. USA Today… (más)