The Great Inflation and Its Aftermath
The Past and Future of American Affluence
2008
History
by
Robert J. Samuelson
2008
A historical account of the U.S. “Great Inflation” from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, detailing the policy decisions—and missteps—that allowed inflation to become entrenched. Samuelson examines how actions under the Nixon administration fueled inflation, while the Reagan era’s monetary tightening brought painful disinflation. He also explores how the economic boom that followed in the post-1980s period fostered complacency and systemic risk, ultimately contributing to the 2008–2009 financial crisis.
Jermaine's Notes
October 2025
Author of a Wall Street history book mentioned this book. Hardcover published in 2008; 2010 paperback includes updates about the GFC. Read 2010 paperback.
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Inside the Nixon Administration
July 2025
The private diary of Arthur F. Burns—Nixon’s top economic adviser in 1969 and Federal Reserve Chairman from 1970 to 1978—offers an unfiltered view of the Nixon administration and the political pressures that shaped its economic policies, which led to double-digit inflation in that era. Though Burns died in 1987, his diary remained sealed until 2008. Across entries from 1969 to 1974, he recorded his shifting impressions of Nixon and his inner circle, including candid commentary on Paul Volcker, Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, and John Connally. The diary reveals how Nixon’s personality and reelection priorities influenced monetary decisions and provides a rare, behind-the-scenes account of the Watergate scandal and what the tapes ultimately revealed about Nixon’s leadership.
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