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The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World

The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World is the biography memoir book written by Alan Greenspan

Alan Greenspan, KBE, PhD (born March 6, 1926) is an American economist and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve of the United States. He is considered by many to be the leading authority and key participant concerning American domestic economic and monetary policy. For example, he has been instrumental in how the U.S. government deals with inflation.

Dr. Greenspan has served as Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve Board since August 11, 1987, and is widely expected to retire on January 31, 2006.

Dr. Greenspan was born in New York City in 1926. He received a B.S in Economics (summa cum laude) in 1948, an M.A in Economics in 1950, and was awarded a Ph.D. in Economics (without having to complete a dissertation) in 1977, all from New York University. He also attended Columbia University for advanced graduate study.

During the 50's and 60's Greenspan was associated with author-philosopher Ayn Rand and her Objectivist movement, advocating unfettered capitalism as a social and economic philosophy. He wrote articles for Objectivist newsletters, and contributed several essays for Rand's 1966 book Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal. Greenspan was also a strong advocate of the gold standard, somewhat of an irony given the Federal Reserve's role in America's fiat money.

During his career, Greenspan served on numerous corporate boards, where he gained useful insights for his role at the Federal Reserve.

On May 18, 2004, he was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve for an unprecedented fifth term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. He has been appointed to this post by U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. From 1974 to 1977, he was Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under Gerald Ford.

Greenspan's term as a member of the Board ends on January 31, 2006. His appointment as Chairman of the Federal Reserve does not expire until June of 2008 however, and he could choose to serve his complete term as chairman without being a member of the board. According to the statutes which govern the Federal Reserve, Greenspan could continue to serve until his replacement had been appointed and approved by the senate. Therefore, Greenspan could continue serving indefinitely if the President or Senate delayed designating his replacement.

On September 9, 2005, the Federal Reserve announced that its first meeting of 2006 would be shortened from two days to one day. The meeting is to be held on January 31st only, instead of the usual January 31st and February 1st. "This schedule change avoids a meeting that spans the terms of two chairmen", reported the Federal Reserve, yet another in a series of strong hints that Greenspan does intend to retire on January 31st.

If Greenspan were to serve until June 10, 2006, he would become the longest-serving Chairman ever, exceeding the 18 years, nine months and 29 days served by William McChesney Martin Jr., from 1951 to 1970.

His honorary titles include Knight Commander of the British Empire, bestowed in 2002 and Commander of the Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honor).

He married NBC journalist Andrea Mitchell in 1997.