Contents

Introduction: More Than a Central Banker

Prologue: The Three Crises of Paul Volcker

Part I: Background

1. The Early Years

2. Apprenticeship

Part II: Confronting Gold, 1969–1974

3. Battle Plan

4. Gamble

5. Transformation

6. Compromise

Part III: Fighting Inflation, 1979–1987

7. Prelude

8. Challenge

9. The Plan

10. Sticking to It

11. New Territory

12. The Only Game in Town

13. The End of the Beginning

14. Follow-Through

15. The Resignations

16. An Equestrian Statue

Part IV: The Twenty-First Century

17. In Retrospect

18. The Rule

19. Trust

Personal Records and Correspondence

Photographs and Cartoons

Source Material and Data

Acknowledgments

Notes

Selected Bibliography

A Note on the Author

By the Same Author