Another book I was told to read by my boss - if you’re v interested in economic policy, probably 4*.

Interesting defence of globalisation.
Clinton is painted in a very flattering light.

I liked his insight into events I knew about and others that I didn't know about, especially the private sides of public figures.

Hmm, not entirely sure what to make of this.

Rubin is clearly a competent and clever guy, integral to two of the biggest challenges the Clinton administration engaged in, the currency and debt crises in Mexico 1994 and Thailand/ROK/Indonesia 1997.

And while this book has some moments when the drama of those days are well captured (chapters 8 & 9 are particularly good) this is about the driest read since my last college textbook:

"I met the head of the IMF, we discussed the crisis, then I spoke to Alan Greenspan, then I spoke to President Zedillo, then I tried to persuade a republican senator then we had a meeting with the German Chancellor. We agreed on a final figure."

"I was dating a girl, she had a friend named Judy, I thought she was beautiful, we started dating, we got married, we had a one day honeymoon, I went back to work."

Has Rubin had a personality bypass?

How on earth do you meet so many people, craft so much important policy AND work in Wall Street during a massive boom and one of the biggest busts in history and make it about as interesting as staring at TV static?

I found it boring. It might be of considerable interest to those who are adept at macroeconomics, but while I found some interest in his descriptions of the several international monetary crises with which he has been involved, there was little here that held my interest. He does laud Clinton for his intelligence, quick grasp of facts and his willingness to spend personal political capital to take risks and to do the right thing.

Parallel stories of a man's life and the world of politics, economics and finance

a rambling description of rubin's time in business and government. most of his annecdotes aren't fully developed - just a few lines, that often don't seem to have a point. however, the overall subject matter is interesting, as he provides an inside view on what he was thinking/doing when handling things like the asian crisis.

This book is a bit of a curiosity: released between the dot com bust and the housing crisis, some of the centrist policies advocated here sound positively antiquated, judging by the current dialogue playing out in the editorial pages and network news chairs.

Rubin is incredibly smart and accomplished, but so much of the book comes across as reactive to whatever the crisis of the day was. He has so many friends among the global elite that he doesn't want to offend, so most issues are reduced to the anodyne, "I worked with X, who was incredibly smart and capable, about issue Y. It's too complex to discuss here, but it needs more of your (the reader) focus and attention."

Of positive note: the 10 point approach (later expanded to 12) approach to Treasury policy.

Amongst the best books I have read in the recent times. As much as it gives a practical perspective of international economies are linked, it also deep dive into personal finance (reader will have to use Charlie Munger's Latice thinking herein).