Greenspan: in his own voice: former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan gives readers a glimpse into his personal life and the inner workings of the corridors of power in The Age of Turbulence.(The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World)(Book review)

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The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World, by Alan Greenspan, New York: The Penguin Press, 2007, 544 pages, hardcover, $35.00.

I guess I should warn you, if I turn out to be particularly clear, you've probably misunderstood what I said.

--Alan Greenspan, 1988 speech to Economic Club of New York

During his 18-year tenure as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, from 1987 to 2006, Alan Greenspan developed a much-deserved reputation for giving congressional testimony in "Fedspeak," an opaque style of delivery that seemed to baffle more than enlighten. For example, "I know that you think you know what I said. But I'm not sure whether you understood that what you heard is what I meant." Fortunately, in writing his memoirs, Greenspan changed gears and spoke in layman's terms. As he put it, "I could finally use my own voice!"

Greenspan takes the reader on a journey not only through his own life, but through a tumultuous and challenging period of American history. Since Greenspan was close to the inner circle of every administration from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush, he is in a unique position to describe and analyze not only the dynamics that drove world events, but also the personalities that tried to deal with them.

The Age of Turbulence is actually two books in one. The first is autobiographical, and Greenspan's personal story turns out to be more interesting than the nerdy banker image he projects, although he does exhibit a reluctance to reveal much of his inner self. In explaining the divorce from his first wife, for example, he simply says, "Without going into detail, I will say I was the main problem."