Banker To The World

Book excerpt: Now featuring a New Preface on The Eurozone Debt Crisis Praise for Banker to the World "From Ukraine to China and Nigeria to Egypt debt and finance are central to global stability and United States interests. No one else has nearly as much experience on the front lines as Bill Rhodes. All who care about the 21st century will profit from close study of his thoughts."--Lawrence H. Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus at Harvard University, former Secretary of the Treasury for President Clinton, and former Director of the National Economic Council for President Obama "Rhodes's recollections are lively and richly detailed, replete with glimpses of top-ranking personalities from the world of banking and government interacting under pressure, and they provide a rare window into how these important but normally secretive operations of high-level international finance actually work. ..." -The New York Review of Books "Mr. Rhodes was one of the few members of the financial establishment to sense that the world was on the brink of a calamity in 2007 (most of the prophets of doom were either academic theoreticians or maverick financiers) ... Mr. Rhodes is rightly proud of his record in defusing debt bombs and calming financial storms. Let's hope that his successors will be able to make similar boasts in the decades to come." -The Wall Street Journal "Bill Rhodes has made it his life's work to bring common sense to the most serious international problems. On something I know firsthand, the Brady Plan, Bill's steady support and energy were invaluable to its conclusion. This comes as no surprise--that's what he always does." -Nicholas Brady, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury " Banker to the World, a book exceptionally well titled, is an illuminating lesson in leadership, diplomacy, vision, and tenacity. It will be required reading at all levels of finance." -Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State "His memoir is a must for anyone who wants to recapture the behind-the-scenes details of this important recent era of banking history." -Robert Mundell, Nobel Laureate and Professor, Columbia University "William Rhodes' book is an important and interesting one, and something that those who want to understand the past and present better would do well to read. A highly talented banker and wise statesman, Rhodes' book is essential reading as a history, business, and life lesson." -Forbes.com "[S]hould be required r ...