There could not be a more perfect title for this book. In poker there is a saying that goes 'if you look around the table and don't know who the mark is, it's you' - this is the book you want to read to keep from being played as the mark.

It never ceases to amaze me what shenanigans the central banks are up to on any give day. And how they count on the rest of us poor slobs to be clueless. Well, be clueless no more - author Anjum Hoda to the rescue. In a thoroughly readable and engaging book (which doesn't bog you down with masses of mathematical fornulas), Hoda pulls back the curtain and exposes those financial wizards. With her decades of sector knowledge and experience, Hoda know just where the bodies are buied and provides a map so you can find them too. This is not a cookbook of financial advise but rather a study of macro trends and how they filter into society. Hoda also writes from an international perspective rather than the usual US centric one, which was very much appreciated (extra bonus - NO baseball analogies, sadly all to common with US authors).

I very much enjoyed this book. While I have some background in financial study I saw nothing here that would be difficult for a beginner to pick up and understand (and a more experienced reader would find useful information here also). This is a book that everyone should read in order to have a working knowledge of the financial sector. Highly recommended. ( )

A very well written book about how the banking system works. The author makes this subject accessible and interesting. Hoda lays out the gambles banks make with your money. It certainley pays to watch you capital investments cuz the industry doesn't give one damn as to how their decisions affect you.

Anjum Hoda’s Bluff provides an good overview of the role of central banks (such as the Fed and the Bank of England) in the world economy. Not an exciting read, but useful. ( )

Concise history of the role Central Banks play in modern economies. I'm no expert, but it certainly seems like the people claiming we live in a Free Market need to give it a rest. It's all centrally planned to one degree or another, for better and for worse.

This was a LibraryThing Early Reviewers selection.
Bluff: The Game Central Banks Play and How It Leads to Crisis, by Anjum Hoda.
I must admit I am probably not qualified enough in the subject of macro-economics to judge this book on its technical merits. The author attemts to put the roll of the Western Central Banks into a historical perspective and to explain what is being done now to manage the macro-economics of the economy. The subject was covered very deeply and it was not comfortable for a casual observer like myself as I had to do a lot of read-overs and cross checks in the early chapters. As the book progressed, however, I began to ferret out the main themes and could follow the argument a little better. It is a well thought out presentation to be sure and I think I learned some details about the Central Bank operation that I didn't know and probably couldn't have learned without the background this book provided. ( )