In this eye-opening account, Peter Hartcher reexamines the achievements of Alan Greenspan, the man who presided over the 1990s stock-market bubble—perhaps the biggest speculative frenzy in history—and walked away when it came crashing down, with his reputation apparently unscathed. The U.S. economy is still struggling with the fallout from Greenspan’s tenure, 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’s careful investigation of the most financially expensive event in American history results in a gripping tale of failed leadership, excess, and the bizarre politics behind the world’s most powerful economy.