In an Uncertain World: Tough Choices from Wall Street to Washington

Customer Reviews

In its structure, this is a typical biography, tracking his childhood influences and his early years as a student at Harvard and Yale, then his career at Goldman. His success at Goldman is clearly understated, since he nowhere mentions being very sucessful at anything he did. Then he explains his entrance into government through fundraising, giving interesting advice to those interested in joining politics. However, the most interesting portion of the book, from my standpoint of international economics, is his work during the economics crises from 1995 to 1999.

Rubin explains in great detail the policy choices made at the time and the diplomacy going on behind the rescue plans for Korea, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia and Russia. For anyone who followed the markets during that period, this book provides new insights into the real workings of politicians and economists in trying to avert a global meltdown.

Rubin also provides two interesting analyses: first, his method of making decisions, through probabilistic analysis. Though obvious, most people clearly do not understand or follow it, so it is important to outline its characteristics, which Rubin does well. His main point is that a decision can be the right one even if it leads to failure. The second analysis is one of the current economic condition and the direction in which the country is going. Rubin is critical of the recent tax cuts and raises worries about the future of the US eocnomy based on the large deficits being accumulated and the future prognostics for social security.

Overall, it is an outstanding work, one that gives insights and teaches one about history and how to think. I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in politics or economics, but especially anyone interested in international economics and globalization.

Thanks to Mr. Rubin for taking the time to put his thoughts into a book for the public.

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