TIMOTHY F. GEITHNER was the seventy-fifth secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and previously served as president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He wrote this book as a distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
A Financial Times Best Book of 2014
“He’s written a really good book — we might as well get that out of
the way, as so much else about Timothy F. Geithner remains
unsettled… There’s hardly a moment in Geithner’s story when the
reader feels he is being anything but straightforward — a
near-superhuman feat for someone who spent so much time in public
life defending himself from careless and dishonest personal
attacks. The decisions he made are easier to criticize than they
are to improve upon. I doubt many readers will put his book down
and think the man did anything but his best. On his feet he might
have stammered and wavered. That in itself was always a sign he was
unusually brave.” –Michael Lewis, New York Times Book Review
“An intimate take on the financial crisis… gripping… conveys in
visceral terms just how precarious things were during the crisis,
just how frightened many first responders were, and just what an
achievement it was to avert a major depression… [Geithner]
demonstrates that he can discuss economics in an accessible
fashion, making the situation the country faced in 2008 and 2009
tactile, comprehensible—and harrowing—to the lay reader. Along the
way, he also gives us a telling portrait of himself.” –New York
Times
“A how-to manual for anyone faced with a financial crisis… Mr
Geithner was known for his brutal candor, and as an author, he does
not disappoint.” —The Economist
“A fascinating memoir about life in the maelstrom of the
financial crisis… Earlier books have described much of what
happened that September, but Geithner was present for all the
frantic meetings, the thousands of phone calls — and in the case of
Lehman, the failure to find a buyer that could keep it alive. New
problems cropped up almost weekly, if not daily. He explains each
in easy-to-understand language and what the issues were that shaped
the responses… There could be another crisis someday, of course,
but what Geithner and his colleagues did has made one far less
likely.” –USA Today
“Sharply worded and candid memoir.” —Financial Times
“Geithner does an admirable job of explaining the origins and
complexities of the crisis for the average person. But there’s
enough detail and retrospective lessons-learned to make it valuable
for students of financial history….fast-paced and colorful….Stress
Test goes beyond other crisis books.” –Los Angeles Times
“Throughout Stress Test, one gains a deep appreciation for the
heart-pumping decisions made by Geithner and his colleagues from
2007 through 2012. And he makes a compelling case that overhwelming
force is necessary in crisis, and that the measures taken by the
Fed and two successive administrations prevented even more pain for
ordinary Americans.” –WashingtonPost.com
“An unsparing insider’s account of the financial crisis from the
former Secretary of the Treasury, unpacking the hard decisions and
terrible trade-offs that devastated the economy but staved off a
deep, lasting depression.” —TIME.com
“The central irony of Stress Test, the new memoir by former
U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, is that a guy who was accused
of being a lousy communicator while in office has penned a book
that is such a good read…I’ve now read four or five of these first
drafts of the history of the Great Recession, and I
believe Stress Test represents the biggest contribution
of the bunch.” —Bill Gates
“Sensational . . . Tim’s book will forever be the definitive work
on what causes financial panics and what must be done to stem them
when they occur.” —Warren Buffett
“Very few important subjects in American history have been the
subject of as much disinformation and deliberate distortion as the
events surrounding the financial crisis that broke in 2008. Tim
Geithner’s candid, clear-headed, and refreshingly self-effacing
account of his role in formulating the federal government’s
response is a very welcome antidote. Geithner’s book is a triple
threat: it is first-rate economic history, insightful political
science, and, most important, a cogent exposition of the importance
of adhering to the policies adopted in the aftermath of the crisis
if we are to succeed in diminishing the likelihood of any
recurrence.” —Barney Frank
“Stress Test is an absolutely compelling account of the financial
crisis, written in a clear, graceful style with striking honesty at
every step along the way. Timothy Geithner brings a complex story
to life with telling anecdotes and personal reflections.” —Doris
Kearns Goodwin
“This is a lucid, fascinating, and extremely important book. Every
American should read it. Geithner does something unusual: he
engages in substance. With both insight and humility, plus a good
dose of wry humor, he explains what really happened during the
financial crisis. No matter your political persuasion, you will
find this book educational, enlightening, and interesting.” —Walter
Isaacson
“The country owes Tim Geithner great appreciation for his role in
overcoming the financial crisis of 2008. He has now indebted
it further with writing a thoughtful, very readable and informative
account of the conduct of policy at the edge of
disaster.” —Henry A. Kissinger
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