I don't really know much at all about economics, so this book served as an easy introduction to what looks like an esoteric subject from the outside. It was succinct, clear, and focused, and did a good job of explaining the broad approaches of central banking policy towards economic crises, starting mostly from the theories set out by the economists Thornton and Bagehot, through the Great Depression and the 2008 crisis, then COVID-19, and in the end spends a substantial amount of time talking about where we are now, and what risks the current monetary policy poses to our future. A significant amount of criticism is levied at the "2% inflation target," while still giving a decent overview of how and why it became so prominent.

I don't know if I would want to read this if I were prone to anxiety. Ultimately this reads as something of a warning that the fixes we've put in to prevent disaster previously are starting to pile up and cause their own problems.The historical portion of this book is a great summary.

Not knowing much about the subject, I can't say how much was sacrificed to simplify the topic however, and I can't say whether Overtveldt's diagnosis of our current situation is accurate either, but I can say that the book makes good sense and puts out a decent argument. ( )

Excellent book. It's like having an economics history course and a current state of the world's economics book in one. Very important to read in order to understand the condition of the world's economic state in this time period. Recommended for all interested in Economics.

I was excited to read this book because I wanted to learn more on how banks work and global economy and how they worked together. I have no background in banking, finance and global economy but I learned a lot. It took me while to read this book, the author wrote about various events & bank. To get a better understanding what the author was referring to I had to do my research, looking up terms-,ECB, IMF
people- Raghuram Ragan, Mario Draghi and historical events- 1929 stock market crash, 2007-2009 global financial crisis and 2008 Lehman Brother failure.

The author does a great job telling the history, mind set behind some of world's biggest financial crisis and how central banks supports the global economy. ( )

I have a bachelor's in economics so I would say that I'm interested in the topic, but this was more detailed than I was prepared for. I found my attention wandering while I tried to read. ( )

This book provides a good presentation on the role of central banks in the world economy. With specific reference to the 21st century it notes what they did right, where they went astray, and what they might have done differently. A good amount of history is provided so that those who aren't professional economists can understand the overall context.

It took me a while to get through the book, although it really is easy to read. I had some Economics classes in college 45 years ago, and I was struggling to remember how the author's comments fit into what I learned then. I'm not up enough on the current state of economic theory to evaluate the author's position so I won't comment on the quality of the specific content. It's well-written, though, with no jargon that hasn't already been explained. Constant references to economists from the past come only after those economists and their views have been outlined for the reader. Someone who isn't trying to study the book while reading it will get through it much more quickly than I did!

I found the subject fascinating, and would like to see what professional economists have to say about it. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject. ( )