Volcker, Portrait of the Money Man

The U.S. Federal Reserve Board is a quasi-independent and nonpartisan arm of the Federal government that seeks to stabilize the economy by buying or selling Treasury securities and/or foreign currencies and by lending funds to business at varying interest rates in order to head off inflation or impending recession. Thus, a strong ""Fed'' chairman such as the recently retired Paul Volker can greatly affect the people's fortunes. Chicago Tribune Washington correspondent Neikirk here describes Volker's conventional New Jersey family background and chronicles his gradual rise in importance as a banker and as a government official in the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Carter, Ford and Reagan administrations. Most notable are Volker's risky but ultimately successful ``tight-money'' program at the ``Fed'' to which he held firm despite soaring interest rates to curb inflation in the early 1980s, his role in the Nixon dollar devaluation of 1971 and his emergency action in Mexico's OPEC-oil debt crisis of 1973. $50,000 ad/promo; 50,000 first printing. (October)