In January 2006, after eighteen years in the job, Alan Greenspan stepped down as chairman of the US Federal Reserve. He is no longer the most powerful man in the world.

Bubble Man, by award-winning journalist Peter Hartcher, is a bold reconsideration of the achievement of Alan Greenspan. This is the man who presided over one of the biggest speculative frenzies in history, the 1990s US stockmarket bubble, yet walked away when it came crashing down, his reputation apparently unscathed. How can this be? Today the US economy is struggling with Greenspan's legacy, which includes a bubble in housing prices, a rocky recovery and a vast Federal deficit. His mistakes live on, as does the question of what to do about bubbles.

Hartcher provides a pacy, original account of the most financially expensive event in American history. He paints a perceptive portrait of the Fed chairman. And he looks into the newly released minutes of the Fed Board's meetings at crucial times. Bubble Man is a gripping tale of leadership, excess and the politics of running the world's most powerful economy.