The Creature from Jekyll Island : A Second Look at the Federal Reserve

by G. Edward Griffin

Where does money come from? Where does it go? Who makes it? The money magicians' secrets are unveiled. We get a close look at their mirrors and smoke machines, their pulleys, cogs, and wheels that create the grand illusion called money. A dry and boring subject? Just wait! You'll be hooked in five minutes. Reads like a detective story - which it really is. But it's all true. This book is about the most blatant scam of all history. It's all the cause of wars, boom-bust cycles, inflation, depression, prosperity. Creature from Jekyll Island is a "must read." Your world view will definitely change. You'll never trust a politician again - or a banker.

Genres: Economics, History, Nonfiction, Finance, Politics, Business, Money

608 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

G. Edward Griffin is a writer and documentary film producer with many successful titles to his credit. Listed in Who’s Who in America, he is well known because of his talent for researching difficult topics and presenting them in clear terms that
all can understand. He has dealt with such diverse subjects as archaeology and ancient Earth history, the Federal Reserve System and international banking, terrorism, internal subversion, the history of taxation, U.S. foreign policy, the science and politics of cancer therapy, the Supreme Court, and the United Nations.

His better-known works include The Creature from Jekyll Island, World without Cancer, The Discovery of Noah’s Ark, Moles in High Places, The Open Gates of Troy, No Place to Hide, The Capitalist Conspiracy, More Deadly than War, The Grand Design, The Great Prison Break, The Fearful Master.

Mr. Griffin is a graduate of the University of Michigan where he majored in speech and communications. In preparation for writing his book on the Federal Reserve System, he enrolled in the College for Financial Planning located in Denver, Colorado. His goal was not to become a professional
financial planner but to better understand the real world of investments and money markets. He obtained his CFP designation (Certified Financial Planner) in 1989.

Mr. Griffin is a recipient of the coveted Telly Award for excellence in television production, the creator of the Reality Zone Audio Archives , and is President of American Media, a publishing and video production company in Southern California. He has served on the board of directors of The National Health Federation and The International Association of Cancer Victors and Friends. He is Founder and President of The Coalition for Visible Ballots, The Cancer Cure Foundation, and Freedom Force International.

Reviews

[Eustacia Tan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actually wanted to like this book. It billed itself as reading "like a detective story - which it really is. But it's all true". I honestly wanted to find something good and interesting, especially since I'm an economics student.

But I think it's because I'm an economics student that I can't like this book. After reading the first few chapters, it's obvious the book is a thinly disguised critique of Keynesian economics. Their whole definition of inflation was the Monetarist definition: of an excess increase in money supply. While I know Classical/Monetarist Economists and Keynesian Economists disagree, I wonder why they would go to the extent of hiding this arguement? Did they think the reader would accept the arguement more easily if it wasn't phrased in a Classical vs Keynesian arguement? I think the book would have been a lot better if it was.

More importantly, this book purports to explain the American banking system, while somehow connecting it to the rest of the world (e.g. UK, Europe). Even if it was true, and since I'm no student of history I have no way of knowing so, I'm amazed and horrified at the America-centrism in the book. Does the world economy really revolve around America to the extent that shadowy financiers would gather round to try and chart it? I think the current economic situation proves not.

It's also clear that the author is pushing an anti-socialist agenda, which I find rather fantastic. He's gone beyond Revisionist History, into whole new territory. But I think, and living outside the US in Asia (Singapore to be specific), that America's economic history is plainly capitalist, perhaps too much. But no matter what, it's not communist/socialist. Neither is the UN for that matter. The UN may be ineffective (since only the Security Council can actually sanction anything) and is run by the world power's interest (really, veto power?), but socialist it is not. It's more autocratic (a few nations that can make key decisions) than anything.

But I may be wrong about the book. There could be an excellent arguement in the second half of the book. But unfortunately, I couldn't bear to finish reading the book.

[Stephanie Salaam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing I bought it about 2 years ago before the finacial meltdown, I have never been comfortable with the way our finacial institution is ran. I believe a lot of the individuals that are making the laws are more corrupted than those on the streets. Anyhow this book really goes into the history of the United States finacial institution it goes step by step of what really goes on in Wall Street, it goes into the banking families,which to this day are still getting bailouts, while the rest of america starves or is layed off. I'm still reading it becuase its a lot of material and sometimes you have to re-read it to make a bit of understanding of how economics works...ITS A BIGG PONZI SCHEME!!!!THE BANKING CARTELS ARE STILL STEALING FROM US HARD WORKING AMERICANS and no one is doing anything about it.

[Mike Winner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most important books of the 21st century...I say 21st because it is very "now" in it's significance and will predict the downfall of our current economic system...both here at home and worldwide...

If you have ever wondered what the Fed actually is or why these guys have the power to manipulate rates to maintain "stability" in our modern economic arena, you need to read this. The most eye opening, fact-driven read I have encountered in a long time, Griffin's expose on the Fed not only exposes the fraud that was it's creation but the interlacing effects that fundamentally result from this type of fiat money system. It is food for thought for any libertarian, a main catalyst for any revolutionary and a major brick in the foundation for any free trade capitalist. Absolutely amazing!!

[Savage Bookwolf (new Mario the lone bookwolf) · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the essence of a thing is spoiled, nothing good can come of it.

Please note that I put the original German text at the end of this review. Just if you might be interested.

An exciting chronology of events that have influenced, among other things, the lively roller coaster ride of the financial markets before turning into the 90-degree downside for ordinary earners.

Suppose a fraudulent heart beating in the center of civilization. Each of his heartbeats pumps more and more poisonous blood into the infinite growing body. Since it has run out of real blood for a long time, it splashes and spreads the liquid more and more. The life juice has no nutritional value and can no longer fulfill the promised tasks in the bloated body. To grow, it must become a vampire and a parasite. It aggressively expands and assimilates anything that cannot escape fast enough. Those who live in its sphere of influence are robbed of the fruits of their labor and their lifetime to deceive them with its poisonous blood.

In reality, it reads like this: wealthy and powerful people meet to perfect the concept of fiat money through national banks. Thus they have an unlimited money printing machine with which they can promote or destroy economies, affairs of state and civilizations at will. With the instruments of inflation, deflation, interest, debt, stock markets, etc., crises can also be provoked that can become wars. Intentionally as speculation or accidentally because one forgot to include the sociological component.

From this point of view, it is understandable why the economic history always repeats itself according to the scheme of too fast to newly introduced and overvalued technologies. It is wished and wanted that way. Moreover, economists and politics are portrayed as incorrigible scapegoats. Thus, in the course of railway construction in the 19th century, crazy speculations arose, which were in no way inferior to those of the beginning of automation in the 1930s. The consequences are known.

The 2008 crisis was not a collapse of much of the financial system, as it did in the collapses of the centuries before. However, only the implosion of a facet of a grossly inflated financial moloch. The real estate business alone was enough to shake the entire house of cards. What is this compared to the world's largest stock exchanges, the leading economies and their sovereign bonds, all sorts of new media, the internet and all kinds of information and data merchants? The latter does not provide any significant real value added to the economy or physical products or services produced and endow with trillions on the stock exchanges. What if one or more of these truly systemically important factors collapse?

Lifting the gold standard and opening the door to the big bang of brazenly uninhibited central bank printing was another cornerstone of the misery. Although not even with 24/7 hot-pressing presses one can create the umpteenth digital, fictitious and, never in real money available, values. Some genuine physical banknotes against an invincible, towering superiority of fantasy cash produced out of nothing, with no actual values in the background. This is our economic system.

It is supported by a compliant policy, the premise of which is the unconditional preservation and development of the existing system. As a small example, it is advisable to observe the inflation-adjusted rise in wages over the last decades. If one finds it somewhere first, perhaps the economic Nobel Price beckons.

Alternatively, one observes the bargaining and hesitation for every million when it comes to social benefits. While hundreds of billions for bank savings, rescue funds, and other stability measures are being secretly granted overnight. Highly competent gentlemen, who can also be in the service of the economy, sometimes work out phone book-thick, complicated concepts. These are submitted to the representatives of the people and must be approved within specific deadlines. Otherwise, the collapse threatens.

In the spirit of the socialization of losses and the privatization of profits, the perpetrators and profiteers of the debacle are whelmed with cash.
Urgently needed tax money for people, the environment, and infrastructure is used as risk capital for the makeshift patchwork of megalomaniacal financial constructs. Also, with freshly strengthened main players, the game starts again.

It is frowned upon to raise the question whether the social system that has existed for millennia does not present severe design errors as the basis for the current economic system.
It is equated with nest pollution to name the current form of corporocracy in other names. But there would be so many.

Wenn der Kern einer Sache faul ist, kann darauf nichts Gutes erwachsen.

Eine spannende Chronologie der Ereignisse, die unter anderem die muntere Achterbahnfahrt der Finanzmärkte vor dem Abbiegen in die 90 Grad Abwärtskurse für Normalverdiener beeinflusst hat.

Angenommen, im Zentrum einer Zivilisation schlägt ein betrügerisches Herz. Jeder seiner Pulsschläge pumpt mehr und mehr giftiges Blut in den unbegrenzt wachsenden Körper. Da ihm das echte Blut schon lange ausgegangen ist, panscht und streckt es die Flüssigkeit immer mehr. Der Lebenssaft hat keinen Nährwert mehr und kann die versprochenen Aufgaben im aufgeblähten Körper nicht mehr wahrnehmen. Um weiter wachsen zu können, muss es zu einem Vampir und zu einem Parasiten werden. Aggressiv expandiert es und assimiliert alles, was nicht schnell genug fliehen kann. Von denen, die in seinem Einflussbereich leben, zehrt es und raubt ihnen die Früchte ihrer Arbeit und ihre Lebenszeit, um sie mit seinem giftigen Blut zu betrügen.

In der Realität liest es sich so: Sehr reiche und mächtige Menschen treffen, um das Konzept des Fiat Money mittels Nationalbanken zur Perfektion zu treiben. Damit haben sie eine unlimitierte Gelddruckmaschine, mit der sie Volkswirtschaften, Staatsgeschäfte und Zivilisationen nach Belieben fördern oder zerstören können. Mit den Instrumenten von Inflation, Deflation, Zins, Schulden, Börsen usw lassen sich auch Krisen provozieren, die sich zu Kriegen auswachsen können. Absichtlich als Spekulation oder aus Versehen, weil man vergessen hat die soziologische Komponente mit einzubeziehen.

Unter dem Gesichtspunkt ist es verständlich, warum sich die Wirtschaftsgeschichte nach dem Schema zu schnell zu neu eingeführter und überbewerteter Technologien immer wiederholt. Und Ökonomen und Politik als unbelehrbare Sündenböcke dargestellt werden. So kam es im 19 Jahrhundert im Zuge des Eisenbahnbaus zu wahnwitzigen Spekulationen, die denen der beginnenden Automatisierung in den 1930 Jahren um nichts nachstanden. Die Konsequenzen sind bekannt.

Die Krise 2008 war kein Kollaps großer Teile des Finanzsystems wie bei den Zusammenbrüchen in den Jahrhunderten davor. Sondern nur die Implosion einer Facette eines maßlos aufgeblasenen Finanzmolochs. Die Immobiliensparte allein genügte, das gesamte Kartenhaus ins Wanken zu bringen. Was ist diese schon im Vergleich zu den größten Börsenplätzen der Welt, den führenden Volkswirtschaften und deren Staatsanleihen, allen Arten von neuen Medien, Internet und allen Spielarten von Informations- und Datenhändlern? Letztere erbringen keinerlei nennenswerten realen Mehrwert, Produkte oder Dienstleistungen und dotieren mit Billionen an den Börsen. Was ist wenn einer oder mehrere dieser wirklich systemrelevanten Faktoren einknicken?

Den Goldstandard aufzuheben und damit den Urknall unverschämt enthemmter Notenbankdruckerei Tür und Tor zu öffnen war ein weiterer Grundstein der Misere. Obwohl sich nicht einmal mit rund um die Uhr heißlaufenden Druckerpressen die zigfachen digitalen, fiktiven und niemals in echtem Geld verfügbaren Werte erschaffen lassen. Ein realer physischer Geldschein gegen eine unbesiegbare haushohe Übermacht von aus dem Nichts, ohne reale Werte im Hintergrund, erschaffenen Fantasiegeldes. Das ist unser Wirtschaftssystem.

Unterstützt wird es durch eine willfährige Politik, deren Prämisse die bedingungslose Erhaltung und Ausbauung des bestehenden Systems ist. Als kleines Beispiele sei empfohlen, das inflationsbereinigte Steigen der Löhne innerhalb der letzten Jahrzehnte zu beobachten. Sofern man es als erster irgendwo findet,winkt vielleicht der Wirtschaftsnobelpreis.
Oder man beobachtet das Feilschen und Zaudern um jede Million wenn es um Sozialleistungen geht. Während dreistellige Milliardenbeträge für Bankenrettungen, Rettungsschirme und andere Stabilitätsmaßnahmen geschwind heimlich über Nacht bewilligt werden. Hochkompetente Herren, bei denen es auch Vorkommen kann, dass sie im Dienste der Wirtschaft stehen, arbeiten diese mitunter telefonbuchdicken, komplizierten Konzepte aus. Die werden den Volksvertretern vorgelegt und müssen binnen gewisser Fristen bewilligt werden. Denn sonst droht der Kollaps.

Ganz im Sinne der Sozialisierung der Verluste und der Privatisierung der Gewinne werden den Verursachern und Profiteuren des Debakels Unsummen in den Rachen geworfen.
Dringend für Menschen, Umwelt und Infrastruktur benötigtes Steuergeld wird als Risikokapital zur notdürftigen Flickerei von größenwahnsinnigen Finanzkonstrukte heran gezogen. Und mit frisch gestärkten Hauptakteuren beginnt das Spiel von neuem.
Es ist verpönt, die Frage aufzuwerfen, ob das seit Jahrtausenden bestehen Gesellschaftssystem als Grundlage für das aktuelle Wirtschaftssystem nicht schwere Konstruktionsfehler aufweist. Es wird mit Nestbeschmutzung gleichgesetzt, die aktuelle Form von Korporokratie bei anderen Namen zu nennen. Aber es würde so einige geben.

[Joe Krakovsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every so often I come across a book that for one reason or another I can't bring myself to finish. Though this book was one of them, I felt that I owed it to myself, as well as my Goodreads friends, to finish. It is a story that needs to be told. That being the case, I am breaking this what may be a rather long review into two parts. The first paragraph is a concise review that I hope you read, and if you are stimulated to read more, then read my review in its entirety.

Basically, this story is about the Federal Reserve, which in spite of the name is not part of the government but rather a cartel of bankers. They had met in great secrecy on Jekyll Island to formulate plans for yet another attempt to create a central bank, even though earlier attempts failed miserable. Through their shenanigans and subterfuge they got the laws passed to allow them to take over the American banking industry. Since then these bankers have manipulated the markets through their control of the dollar generating printing presses, in spite of the Constitution stating that only gold and silver can be used as money. And they do it for their own good, and in doing so have created wars, recession, depressions, revolutions and even genocide. If you read no further than this paragraph, just remember that no bank is too big to fail and the laws allowing the Federal Reserve must be rescinded least we all are someday reduced to nothing more than modern day serfs. And if you are so naïve to think it can't happen, go visit the poor in their tents or the rich in their doomsday bunkers (read castles).

This book taught me a lot about history. The great banking family of Rothschild were well established in Germany and England. They more or less ran the bank of England. It didn't matter that the English hated Jews, the Rothschilds learned to hid in the limelight and run the banks from the shadows. Both Wellington and Napoleon built up their armies with Rothschild gold. In time they expanded their operations to America were great fortunes were to be made.

Did you know that Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, was what we would call a racist today? I checked out his speech as mentioned in this book. Sure enough, he believed that slaves should be free, but that they were below the white man. They shouldn't vote, hold public office, and certainly not intermarry with whites! He probably rolled over in his grave when Obama was elected. He thought slavery was wrong but that was no reason to take up arms against the South. What did matter was that the South wanted to leave the union for economic reasons, mainly for what the banks were doing to them. Once the shooting started Lincoln violated the Constitution over and over, yet they still couldn't beat the South. The foreign bankers saw an opportunity. British troops moved into Canada and French troops were stationed in Mexico. They might have moved in to pick up the pieces had not the Russians sent two fleets, one to the Atlantic and the other to the Pacific coasts of the North. It was then that Lincoln in a moment of brilliance emancipated the slaves and made the war of succession a crusade. Neither the English nor French people would stand for their governments hindering this crusade. And from that point the South was doomed.

According to the author the bankers care nothing for any country. They only care about making money. They control the IMF/World Bank and freely give out loans knowing they will never be repaid. They are only interested in collecting the interest and if the loans go bad the US taxpayer, not the banks, will cover them. And it matters not the these loans are often used to enrich dictators rather than help the poor.

One of the great evils of the Fed is inflation. Politicians want money but are afraid to raise taxes (too much) so the Fed creates money out of thin air for them and these fiat dollars dilute your buying power. Let's see, a Chevy Suburban listed for $4707 in 1975. What do they go for now, $67,900? The Fed creates fiat dollars, that are worthless, so they push legal tender laws to force you to use them. I could go on and on and still not give away too many spoilers.

At this point I will stop. I have never felt so passionate about a book or cause in quite a long time. Ignore those reviewers who blow it off by using such connotations as conspiracy theories and such. Look around you and see if things get better every time the head of the Fed opens their mouth!

[Elliott · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am almost ashamed to admit to having read this book. But, there are a disturbing amount of four/five star ratings for a book that is sanitized John Birch propaganda and so someone's gotta say the hard truth: there's no history here, and there's no economics either. The only thing I am unsure of is whether Griffin is knowingly spreading false information, or if he's simply an idiot. I suspect the former, but it's more likely the latter.
You can tell because Griffin has no idea on how 'debt' actually works, still less how it translates into how currency works. The fact is that all currency is based on a debt that is transferred from person to person. It doesn't matter what the currency is made of, how it's made, or how this debt was incurred merely that it exists in some fashion. Griffin would like to live in a "debt-free" country where the gold standard reigns supreme. This is not possible. To repay all debt cancels out the basis by which the economy is based upon. No debt=no economy.
Supposing however that Griffin knows this, than to him it's just he doesn't like debt where it falls: there are too many rich bankers and too much money in government. Agreed. The problem is that within capitalism wealth invariably produces more wealth so that it just passes into fewer and fewer hands. That's just how capitalism works.
It's not going to get any better.
Outside of government intervention there's nothing that will prevent a new class of banker emerging from Griffin's "Eden" to repeat the process. Canceling inheritance and having money revert to the state after someone dies does not prevent a wealthy individual from giving his money away before death in sums, and furthermore it wouldn't work without a government big enough to monitor, and repossess wealth to scatter it back to the commons. This isn't even factoring in environmental degradation, or resource exhaustion (both of which Griffin considers to be fiction) which make not only Griffin's pure laissaz-faire capitalism a pipe dream, but all capitalism really.
As for history: I've never read a book before that considered Bertrand Russell a member of a conspiratorial league bent on the absolute destruction of freedom before. The easy explanation is that he wasn't. Griffin also states that Russell was a Fabian Socialist. This isn't true. He also states that the Russian Revolution was an inside job organized by bankers to take over Russia. Also not true.
Griffin also fundamentally either overlooks, or hides the actual facts behind the formation of the Federal Reserve, banking interests, trust busting, and other legislation in favor of the narrative he wished to tell which is: an eventual UN takeover of the United States. From this I got the impression that he wrote the book backwards trying to tie in his previous tracts on the UN that he wrote for the Birch Society with the Federal Reserve in order to give himself some legitimacy.
If you still don't believe my critiques there's several excellent articles written by actual economists online that go far in depth to Griffin's claims. If after these you still buy Griffin's arguments, than you ought to feel ashamed of yourself.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Every single civilization with a 'fiat' money system has ultimately collapsed, claims Griffin. Well guess what? Every civilization created by people with two arms and two legs has also collapsed - eventually. The author is just too bug-eyed and ranty for my liking. Half way through, I felt like I was trapped in a corner with a Pub Bore. It's thought-provoking, yes. But with regards to the current crisis, issues such as the extreme monetary contraction caused by the Great Panic of 2009, or how an expansion in the money supply can be offset by the VELOCITY of money (ie, you print it, but people just stick it under the mattress) are glossed over, because they don't fit Griffin's gold-obsessive, the Fed-will-be-the-end-of-us outlook. And to be honest with you, I'm not sure I beleive that people like Ron Paul (whom I admire, don't get me wrong) or G. Edward Griffin would have the balls to simply let the US economy collapse in the immediate term, in an effort to create a gold-standard utopia. They would bring about anarchy and terrible suffering in the meantime. But what do such boring practical considerations matter when you have fear on your side and a convincing-sounding argument? Having said all that, these are issues worth reading about, and with Ben Bernanke currently busy hitting the 'oh, what the hell, print another trillion' button, this book is worth taking a loook at.

[Amberle Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are NOT enough stars for this book. Griffin is a genius. This is a 600ish page book, written like a mystery novel (not even kidding), and I finished it in two weeks. It's a MUST READ for everyone. If you weren't a conspiracy theorist (or labeled as such. Those that know the truth tend to receive that label now days) before, you WILL be after you finish The Creature from Jekyll Island. Learn about the Rothschilds (who control the US, and a good chunk of the world), the Federal Reserve, how money is made, inflation, etc. It sounds like a boring economics-heavy read, but it's not. I've never taken an economics course past high school, and I understood everything he talked about; he makes it very easy to understand, and often repeats a concept a couple of times (usually he will refer back to a concept in the last chapter, when discussing something related to it in the next) and breaks it all down. I cannot recommend this book enough. It is essential.

[Shelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was given to me by a respected friend who read it several years ago and went out of her way to find me a copy because of its relevance to what is happening in the financial realm now (bailouts, massive debt, etc.). After reading it, I have conflicting opinions. Although I am generally very averse to conspiracy theories on any level, I found the premise and information fascinating. I still have a healthy skepticism because it is all too possible to distort and manipulate facts to fit any scenario, but I have to admit that based on examples from past history, it seems plausible, if only because those with money and power tend to, at the very least, scratch each others' backs. I do not dispute that those with the money and power create crises, often times on the global level, in order to profit from both sides. Wars, the refusal to pursue alternative energy sources aggressively, etc. are just a few examples. But I have been hearing about "secret societies" all my life, so they are not so secret. And the conclusion I draw from life experience is that human beings are human beings. A cartel may exist but human beings will never be able to completely control the outcomes in a chaotic human world. And a sustainable long-term plan for global domination seems far-fetched to me as those who are living on greed sow the seeds of their own doom and eventually come into conflict with each other. Call me naive, but the author did not convince me of a centuries-old financial cabal with a coherent dark plan for global domination through a new world order. Money will always buy power and power will always control the means to more money but I don't believe it's a well-conceived sinister plot; sadly it's more of a commentary on human nature. I did thoroughly enjoy the historical aspects of this book, especially the creation of banking as an entity, the explanations of types of money (commodity, receipt, fiat, fractional), the sham of the FDIC and reserve funds (less than 1%), the Council on Foreign Relations, the imperative of a debt-based economy, etc. Where he truly lost me was on page 522 with his comments on environmentalism as a substitute for war (debt creation). I quote:< It is beyond the scope of this study to prove that currently accepted predictions of environmental doom are based on exaggerated and fraudulent "scientific studies". But such proof is easily found if one is willing to look at the raw data and the assumptions upon which the projections are based. More important, however , is the question of why end-of-world scenarios based on phony scientific studies - or no studies at all - are uncritically publicized by the CFR-controlled media; or why radical environmentalist groups advocating socialist doctrine and anti-business programs are lavishly funded by CFR-dominated foundations, banks and corporations, the very groups that would appear to have the most to lose. It's what people can be made to believe that counts.> It's not that I don't believe "they" find ways to profit from this issue, but I don't believe they manufactured environmental issues that don't exist for that purpose. You don't need scientific studies to tell you we have actual environmental issues, you only need to be observant of the world in which we are currently living.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and surprisingly readable book that demystifies the workings of the Federal Reserve aimed at those without a background in finance. Griffin describes the process of how the Federal Reserve, a private institution designed and beholden to elite financiers, creates money out of nothing. This money is then used for debt fueled government spending and for banks to borrow, invest, and loan for profit. He explains how it has been possible for the US government to recently fund trillion dollar wars and bank bailouts without significantly raising taxes. This is done by inflating the money supply, which Griffin calls the 'secret tax.' Griffin alleges that a money standard based on nothing but government promises encourages unsustainable debt, and is unstable by nature. Citing numerous historical precedents, he argues our financial system is certain to eventually collapse on its current course. The true nature of our financial system could not be further from a free market, and this book details how many of the strings are covertly pulled. Contrary to mainstream news reports of how the wealthy have suffered from this economic downturn, Griffin details how some have profited immensely in the past during recessions, to the point of having manipulated their creation at times. He also describes the history of elite financiers secretly encouraging war, funding opposing sides, and gaining extraordinary power and wealth as a result. Griffin's background in journalism insures adequate documentation for these controversial claims. However, some of his conspiratorial theories, especially in the final chapters covering the New World Order, are difficult to fully accept. Abraham Lincoln's oft quoted prophetic warning against corporations which Griffin cites, has for example been soundly discredited by historian Merill Peterson. These are minor qualms though, and the main points of 'Creature...' offer a valuable perspective for those seeking an understanding of the US' financial system not offered by mainstream sources.

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The combination of central banking and fractional reserve lending (whereby banks lend up to 10 times as much money as they actually have in real capital assets) has been one of the most destructive forces in western civilization. Although declared legal and sanctioned by modern governments, it is inherently fraudulent, and it is the means by which banks and government collude to create virtually unlimited piles of money to fund their projects (wars, economic development, profitable loans, etc) without raising taxes directly. Instead, the citizens pay it all through inflation--that insidious, indirect tax that few laymen understand or detect.

As one of the back-cover blurbs puts it, this book is a "murder mystery about the financial 'murder' of the middle class." G. Edward Griffin takes the reader on a page-turning journey through the history of banking and currency, starting with the Roman and Byzantine empires, moving into the British Empire's experience with debasing their money (multiple times), and finally into the four different attempts at central banking in the United States, the last of which culminated in the Federal Reserve. That insidious and destructive institution turned 100 years old just a few days ago, on December 23rd, 2013.

The Federal Reserve System is what allows banks to lend out far beyond their means, with little risk since they know Uncle Sam will bail them out. Griffin shows time and time again how banks have been immorally irresponsible with their loan portfolios, yet they continue to prosper at the expense of the American taxpayers through inflation.

Every single experiment in fiat currency has been a disaster, wreaking economic havoc on the population at large but leaving the bankers and politicians sharing the profits. Griffin details this again and again throughout the last few centuries. Take World War I, for example. Griffin writes:

But the greatest source of funding came, as it always does in wartime, not from direct taxes, but from the hidden tax called inflation. Between 1915 and 1920, the money supply doubled from $20.6 billion to $39.8 billion. Conversely, during World War I, the purchasing power of the currency fell by almost 50%. That means American unknowingly paid to the government approximately one-half of every dollar that existed. And that was in addition to their taxes. This massive infusion of money was the product of the Mandrake Mechanism [Griffin's term for the Fed's creation of money out of debt manufactured out of thin air] and cost nothing to create. Yet the banks were able to collect interest on it all. The ancient partnership between the political and monetary scientists had performed its mission well. (259-60)

The history portion of the book (95%) is incredibly illuminating and fascinating. It's quite fascinating how much of the early political debates in American history were about money policy. George Washington warned against fiat money:

"We may one day become a great commercial and flourishing nation. But if in the pursuit of the means we should unfortunately stumble again on unfunded paper money or any similar species of fraud, we shall assuredly give a fatal stab to our national credit in its infancy" (323).

Near the end of the book Griffin starts to get kooky about a supposed global conspiracy and a radical 1960s document that provides a road map to world domination and economic upheaval. Especially compared to the rest of the book, the volume and depth of cited materials are conspicuously lacking in this section. However, his detailed prescriptions to begin to dig us out of the hole we are in--mostly involving paying down debt with fiat money, going back to a gold/silver standard, and steadily eroding the suffocating power of central government from our lives--are sound, practical, and easy to grab hold of.

The more I read, the more I realize that the Federal Reserve and its destructive shenanigans are behind much of the economic and geopolitical strife of the last 100 years. Naturally, Griffin's book is somewhat of an alternate history, but I found it compelling and convincing. I will continue to read on this topic, including some contrary views, but Griffin's work is a valuable contribution to the discussion. For anyone interested in economic and political justice, this is a must-read.

[Ryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Utterly stupid. This book reads like the author got to college, took an intro to macroeconomics class, got to the point where they say banks create money and that money isn't backed by precious metals and walked out because he was too furious to listen to any of the explanation. Griffin frequently misrepresents history and economics because he wants it to fit his story line. If Griffin is to be believed, banks are responsible for every war since at least the 1700's. The overarching goal is to enrich banks, obviously. He has a special focus on WWI, which is odd because he doesn't reference any of the historical, political, or militaristic tensions that were building up to the war. In his simplified view, it was all because bankers manipulated countries into fighting so they could lend them money. Of course, this makes no sense, but Griffin doesn't let that get in his way.

Where does Griffin think these banks are doing? Well, in the U.S. they combined to form a cartel in the form of the Fed. Of course, this isn't how the Fed works as the Fed has regulation powers over the banks, which they of course chafe under, but I digress. From there, the Fed will become the central bank for the world! Or... sort of because he claims that the central bank for the world is the IMF/World Bank and, despite the names, these institutions do not function at all like a central bank, so I'm not sure where he was going here. Why would the Fed want to be the central bank for the world? To promote communism of course! Those sneaky communists, always in league with the big banks.

For all this to make any sense you would think there would have been some movement on this since the Fed was created, but don't worry, Griffin says the turn to Fed control of everything and a quick tumble into the road to serfdom (and he doesn't even credit Hayek!) is just around the corner!

What does Griffin want? In short, the Fed gone (obviously), deposit insurance abolished, and money to be backed by silver and gold. Then, in a curious bit of dissonance, he wants banks to be completely deregulated. This is strange because without regulation and deposit insurance, banking crises were frequent and there were lots of problems. Why does he want this? He thinks the failing banks are good for the economy. Sure, people will lose their life savings, but short term pain for long-term stability, right? An interesting notion if you ignore the fact that this was tried and didn't work. In the end, Griffin's plan is absurd and dangerously stupid.

This is all before we get to his writing style. He writes this book in the style of a high school term paper (there are summaries at the end of each chapter!) complete with all of the trappings of a writer who has a thesis statement and will ignore facts, cherry pick quotes, and state random things without citations as if they are facts (they aren't) in order to further his stated goal.

To borrow from Griffin's writing style, here is the summary of my review: Utterly stupid on all levels.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the readability of this book, considering it could have been a dreary and dull book. That being said, I did not like the fact that the author portrayed the creation of the Federal Reserve as a conspiracy theory that will one day ruin the world. The author was being a bit intellectually dishonest by adding his sentiments to historical facts--one could argue that this book should not really belong in the history section of a bookstore. Throughout the book the author gave the impression that that the entire system is a scam that is aimed at screwing the poor over and is aimed at creating a evil world government. I got the impression that this was the typical American skepticism of government which permeated a rather interesting subject. I am not an expert on the history of banking but I did not get the impression from the tone of this book that everything stated was entirely accurate or that culpability for some of the events in history could be directly linked to bankers and banking as the author suggested. All in all, if you want to know about the federal reserve system and don't know anything already, then this book should not be one of the first books to read on the subject as it may cause you to look at the concept of central banking and fiat money with prejudice. I recommend learning about the history of banking and money, before delving into a book that is primarily against fiat money, fractional reserves, central banks, the Bank of England, JP Morgan, et al.

[Said · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book reads like a propaganda tract.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a history buff I enjoyed the historical context in which this book was written. Made it an easy read. In order to know where we are going, we have to know where we came from. That is why I love history and why we continually run in circles because very little attention is paid to the past in order to make way for the future. This book gives the inevitable consequences of not paying attention to history from the perspective of fiat money and central banking. I did not realize the issues the colonies themselves had faced with fiat money and massive inflation, ultimately leading the founding fathers to write the Constitution as it is. I now have a new perspective on the Federal Reserve and am a much more informed citizen as a result of reading this book. I would recommend this book to anyone of a curious nature with a slight interest in economics and the history of central banking. As a shout out to BSG, "this has happened before, and it will happen again."

[simon aloyts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you ever wonder how the financial system really works? What money is? Where it comes from? You’ll find answers here. Just be careful to distinguish between historical fact and the author’s opinions, the lines between which he intentionally blurs.

I was fascinated enough to trudge through all 608 intense pages and have learned a lot. Griffin is not a great author but he is a good one and certainly capable enough to spice up the relatively dull subjects of wars, economic cycles and inflation with some of his documentary film-maker flair. At the very least I now think I understand how the US government is able to suddenly spend a billion dollars a day to wage war without it ever having been sitting around before. They can, after all, print the world’s currency, and that, as you’ll see, has enormous global consequences.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A history of banking throughout the world, leading up to the U.S. Federal Reserve, the dominance of the dollar in world finance, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Basically the story of exactly how the world's richest families have, for the past 250 years, deliberately taken steps to gain irrevocable power over the entire world. It uncovers their plot to create a world government and enslave all of mankind in a form of high-tech feudalism, under the guise of progress toward a better social system. Everything in the book is true, with primary sources of these families betraying their plot. The scary part? They're succeeding, and until you read this book, you'd never even realize just how successful they have become.

[lamarcus brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please, please, please read this book. It tells you exactly what you need to know about America and how it came to where it is now. It explains it all in great detail and with all kinds of detailed evidence, references, historical facts, and statistics. This is one of two books (the other is totally unrelated) I would force anyone I love to read; so they may know the truth.

[Charles Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. He gets a bit carried away in describing some of the global coordination efforts; not that some of them did not occur but rather the extent to which they were coordinated by a small group. However that does not detract from the essential factual content of this work (5th edition)that supports the vast majority about which he writes. I have come to think of it as the fifth estate.

[Allie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Logical fallacies piled atop blatant falsehoods presented by an off-the-rails crackpot conspiracy theorist. Why didn't I think to read the author's Wikipedia biography BEFORE I bought the book?

[Bernie · Rating 4 out of 5]

G. Edward Griffin does a good job of thoroughly covering a complex subject—the founding, history and role of the Federal Reserve. Each chapter ends with a summary which helps the reader to digest the sometimes complex explanations and which, if one wanted, to skim the book. The Federal Reserve, in The Creature from Jekyll Island emerges as a story of the human lust for control, consummated among a powerful elite, that expresses itself in the impulse toward collectivism.

Griffin’s central thesis is that the Federal Reserve represents, not an arm of the government charged with guiding and manipulating the nation’s economy, though it certainly does manipulate, but rather as cabal/cartel of bankers and politicians whose main concern is to further their economic interests in a mercenary, competition-eliminating quest to create money/wealth out of nothing. Or perhaps to put it more accurately, to create money by writing checks for loans in which there is no wealth on deposit. How does the Fed get away with this? By working with its allies to assert that economic failure can be blamed on the market rather than central control, and by this, ironically arguing for increased central control resulting increasing rounds of economic failure.

Griffin works hard at establishing explicit links between the bad actors in money manipulation leading up to the Federal Reserve. Much of what he says is plausible, though it might be said just as likely that the seeming cohesion and concertedness of these actors may be as much a matter of the deceitful nature of man than any specific conspiracy. Still, I’m not ruling out that some conspiracies have existed and continue to exist.

Establishing that the Fed is indeed a self-promoting cartel, Griffin then reviews the history of money, follows the individuals and groups through history who have sought to manipulate money for their own purposes thus setting the stage for the Fed, and then reviews the malignant actions of the Federal Reserve after its establishment in 1910 on Jekyll Island and its development of a fiat money system.

His explorations leads him to argue for the abolition of the Federal Reserve, resting on seven key reasons: 1. It is incapable of accomplishing its stated objective of stabilizing the economy 2. It is a cartel which operates against the public interest. 3. It is an instrument of usury as the interest rate on a loan generated with money produced out of nothing is a percent known as infinity. 4. It generates our most unfair tax--- inflation 5. It encourages war. 6. It destabilizes the economy, and 7. It is an instrument of totalitarianism.

Does Griffin provide convincing evidence for these? Most certainly. Still, even Griffin believes that the Reserve cannot be merely abolished. Its powers are too great and it has allied with other like-motivated creatures such as the Council of Foreign Relations, the International Monetary Fund (which have taken the Fed manipulations global), and thousands of politicians who depend upon the Reserve to enable them to, like the Federal Reserve, spend money that they don’t have and without the necessity of raising taxes. Instead of outright abolishment, he offers 16 somewhat confusing steps that will result in choking the Reserve of the oxygen it needs to survive.

Mr. Griffin himself is enigmatic. He has authored a wide range of books including The Discovery of Noah’s Ark and A World without Cancer in which he apparently promotes the vitamin B-17 as a cancer cure. Is it a cure? Perhaps, but Griffin is not a medical doctor —nor is he a Biblical Scholar, or an economist. That doesn’t mean however that he doesn’t have the knowledge or skills to write on these matters, but rather that it makes sense to see if what he says in The Creature is coo berated by economists. This is something I will have to pursue, but initially it appears promising. One of my favorite economists for example, Thomas Sowell, has said that the Fed is an organization that has proven its ineffectiveness and should be phased out. Most Austrian School economists exhibit a dislike for the Fed. Libertarians and the Cato Institute have problems with it. I’ve read several books that I recall as echoing Griffin’s outlook on the Fed, though not in as sinister fashion: The Housing Boom & Bust by Sowell, The Constitution of Liberty by Hayek, New Deal or Raw Deal by Burton, and Meltdown by Woods. But my reticular activating system was not focused on the Federal Reserve when I read these books. In the future, I’ll pay more attention. I’m planning to read some more books on the subject. Murray Rothbard’s The Case Against the Fed looks promising but I also want to read at least one book that defends the Fed.

One thing though is certain. If Griffin is correct in his assertions concerning the Fed, the United States, which has prospered despite its manipulations has done so with half its talents tied behind its back. And that is a tragic waste that cannot be allowed to continue. In addition, the Fed and its political allies appears largely responsible for an economy which, if it continues its present course is headed for catastrophic collapse.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the role of the Fed and who is concerned about our country’s economic future.

[Joy Schwabach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the Federal Reserve's unlimited ability to print money and its consequences in war and peace. The author maintains that many of our wars would never have occurred if the American people had been asked to pay for them through taxes. He also maintains that many of our recessions and depressions would have been nonexistent. Printing money is like drinking alcohol --feels good for a time and then comes the inevitable hangover.

Another premise of the book is that the Fed was created to strengthen the big banks not to protect the economy. The bank executives have profited over and over from Fed actions.

In 1970, in the case of Penn Central Railroad, the Federal Reserve lent money to the banks so they could lend even more to Penn Central. And then the banks got Congress to shore up the loans with a guarantee that taxpayers would guarantee payment. This was very profitable for the banks. The execs knew that the loan guarantee would make the stock go up, so they bought vast quantities, and then sold the stock before Penn Central collapsed.

It was an elaborate game played over and over in different industries. First the banks loan out vast sums of money, making the stock-buying public think a company is doing well. Then when it begins to fail, bank insiders sell their stock at a big profit and happily store the dividends they received as well.

Footnote: The author notes how confused people are by the term "government." On a Phil Donahue program, the audience cheered when someone said the government ought to pay our debts instead of the taxpayers. Of course when "government pays" it's no one else but the taxpayers.

The book details other bail-outs: Lockheed, NY City, Chrysler, a bank in Philadelphia, one in Detroit, AIG, Freddie Mac, and so on.

One of the most interesting points is that the Federal Reserve's ability to print money makes taxation unnecessary. The 1946 Chairman of the Fed, Beardsley Ruml, made this point in an article entitled "Taxes for Revenue are Obsolete." Since the Fed can create money out of thin air to be used by the government, simply by buying up bonds with nothing but a change in their entry books, "the national government is finally free of money worries and needs no longer levy taxes for the purpose of providing itself with revenue. All taxation, therefore, should be regarded from the point of view of social and economic consequences." In other words, the purpose of a tax is to redistribute income or to tamp down inflation.

From a detailed discussion of the Fed, the author turns to the great financiers, and how they aimed to create a global financial network and a one-world government that they would control. IHe maintains that the sinking of the Lusitania was used to get the U.S. into war because the financiers saw that their bonds were not going to be paid back by the British and needed to draw the U.S. into World War I to make it a success.

Churchill's idea was that the German U-boats would be forced to strike ships such as the Lusitania because they had been given orders to ram or attack the U-boats, rather than allow themselves to be searched. (They were carrying immense stores of munitions.) Wilson concurred in this plan. His aim, says the author, was to necessitate global involvement and new global organizations. So the man who "kept us out of war" actually wanted our involvement in World War I, though he seemed to suffer a bit at the thought of the 195 American lives lost (and a thousand British).

From here we turn to the Bolshevik revolution, learning how J.P. Morgan and others financed both sides, so whoever came out on top would be well-connected with him. Then it's a trip back to colonial America, where inflation got so bad that the Bank of England finally intervened. (George Washington said, "It takes a wagonload of money to buy a wagonload of goods.") When the founding fathers drafted the Constitution, they were very careful to prevent this from happening again, by limiting the federal government to coining metallic money. An era of immense prosperity ensued when the government was not allowed to run he printing presses. Unfortunately, the Constitution has been ignored.

The author also deals with the Civil War, saying it had an economic cause. The South imported cheap goods from Europe. The North put a stop to that by instituting high tariffs on imports. Europe retaliated by slapping an import duty on cotton. It was a double whammy for the South. Lincoln initially said the war was not about slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation said there was to be no more slavery in certain areas of the country, but these were the areas over which the government had no control. Slavery was allowed in areas that the North could have controlled.

Britain and Mexico saw the Civil War has their big opportunity to expand in Canada and Latin America, because the North would be too busy fighting. But the Tsar of Russia sent battleships to San Francisco and Virginia, which made the other powers loathe to get involved.

To keep the North in the war, Lincoln enforced conscription. In a riot, the government opened fire and killed a thousand people.

The book has a huge scope, but it's well-researched. Authors quoted include George F. Kennan, Ron Chernow, and many other notables.

[James Steele · Rating 1 out of 5]

[my review is longer than the Goodreads character limit so suffice to say:

More than a year after I read this book, I have read many more books that touch on these subjects and have concluded that it is not a good book after all. It reaches the wrong conclusion from the evidence it presents, going out of its way to blame liberals for all the world’s problems when blaming out-of-control capitalism should be the obvious deduction. Passages that deal with the Rothschild family, and its influence over the banking system, come very close to outright claiming the Jews are destroying the world. I cannot tolerate this book anymore, now that I know better books exist.]

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I've read to date to fill you in on the history of money in the US and our current mess. It doesn't go into esoteric theories like "Babylon's Banksters" or confine itself to mostly political history like "Web of Debt" although I would suggest these as further investigation. I would recommend this as a starting point as it hits on a lot of historical events that were given dubious white-washes in your high school education. You will have a much greater understanding for how we got into the mess we're in and where the people pulling the strings intend to drag us if we don't intercede. Enlightening, informative, empowering. What more could you ask for? Get off your ass and read this now!

[Jerome Otte · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was 17 when I read this. maybe that's why I gave up so fast. I AM a history buff, though, so maybe that's why my friend (who is more than thirty years older than me) thought I might like this. I didn't.

It is not the lack of any historical credentials that makes this volume so weak, but the lack of objectivity is the reason so few with any academic credentials will support it. That is why it has to boast a recommendation from Willie Nelson on the cover. As a well studied monetary economist Willie Nelson is a great singer.

It is written with preordained conclusions. The author creates 'official' sounding names like the "Rothschild Formula" to suggest a credibility. He offers quotes then notes in the footnotes that he could find no original source for the quote, but if you know the Rothschild history it is certainly 'conceivable' that it was said. This is academic cowardice and laziness.

This is not to say that there are many facts which are interesting, even if many are wrong. He even noted that Napoleon was a man of peace who was destroyed by a banking conspiracy. I guess that thing in Russia was just a training exercise.

It is stunning to me how many people have read this and swallow it uncritically. I wonder how many have read other books about the history of banking and money that actually have credibility?

A quick lesson in conspiracy theories:
1. A measure of truth is often more misleading than all of a lie. It is context that matters. Reading with preordained conclusions leads one to reject contrary information. Assumptions MUST be challenged.
2. Never assume conspiracy when incompetence will explain it just as well. Just because world leaders in politics and finance have screwed up so royally for so long- and they certainly have- does not mean more sinister forces were at work.
3. In the face of irrefutable evidence it is still possible- and in this book likely- to reach the wrong conclusion.
4. If your response to skeptics of conspiracy theories is "It fits" meaning the work does succeed in offering an explanation that logically works- then you are the ultimate sucker for conspiracy theories.

This book is a valuable tool to discover and identify poor research, presumptive statements, the danger of preordained conclusions, and other aspects of conspiracy theories. It is this and only this that keeps me reading this to the end. Like many of you - you have a friend or many friends who have pushed you to read this - I finally took it on and was appalled in less than 50 pages- I grabbed a pencil and started commenting in the margins the errors and fallacies. I have to constantly resharpen my pencil.

There really is a serious debate to be had about central banking and hard currencies. This book is not it. If you want to truly understand banking and currency there are many books to be had- BUT be prepared for some dry reading. It can be complicated especially when you get to foreign exchange. If you want to understand how conspiracy theories gain acceptability then grab a pencil and read this book. But if this is only book you have read on the subject- be careful not to be a sucker.

Just as one illustration of how Griffin falsely miscites historical references, when discussing the second Bank of the United States Griffin makes the claim that "It had promised to continue the tradition of moderating the other banks by refusing to accept any of their notes unless they were redeemable in specie on demand. But when the other banks returned the gesture and required that the new Bank also pay out specie on their demand it frequently lost its resolve." Although Griffin claims to be citing Ralph Catterall's work on the second Bank, one sees that Catterall had made a completely different point:

"Thus the Bank of the United States, even when it attempted to press its claims, found insuperable obstacles to collecting in coin. Hence the state banks enjoyed a virtual immunity from the payment of the vast majority of their notes. In striking contrast to this favor shown the state banks was the attitude toward the national bank. Banks, brokers, and traders made a business of extracting coin from its vaults, an operation facilitated by its faulty management in permitting excessive discounts. Brokers and bankers constantly bought up its notes and presented them for redemption, drew specie, sold it at an advance, bought bank notes, presented them, drew specie, sold it, and so on ad infinitum."

Griffin was clearly attempting to twist the facts about the second Bank in order to make them seem uncooperative and hence "bad," whereas the picture one gets from Catterall is that the second Bank was actually gullibly cooperative. In other words, Griffin deliberately misquoted a source in order to give a misimpression which was more in line with his ideological predilections. One could go through the whole book noting such misquotes.

Perhaps more relevant is to appreciate the way that Griffin has completely turned upside-down the significance of the formation of the Federal Reserve System in 1913. Most readers of Griffin whom I've come across are frequently under the misimpression that fractional reserves are an idea which was somehow introduced in 1913. That, of course, is absolutely moronic. Playing games with fractional reserves has been a central component of capitalism from the earliest days. When the United States was growing across the continent in the 19th century people manipulated the practice of money-lending with reserves that were very far short of 10%. It didn't matter because the US economy was growing at such a swift pace. When the US had conquered all of the western territories then the pace of economic growth started to slag and this led to the establishment of the Federal Reserve System as a form of regulatory agency over such fractional lending. But the point of consequence of 1913 was that it set up regulation over fractional lending, not that it introduced fractional lending. The US economy has always run on the fractional lending. That was true throughout the whole 19th century.

Griffin casts a gross distortion of the Jekyll Island meeting. In Griffin's world that meeting is presented as the origin of the Fed. In reality, it was the crisis of 1907 which started a very public debate on the need to form a national banking system. The meeting at Jekyll Island happened because the leading bankers felt they should try to preempt the public debate by putting together their own plan. However, the Aldrich plan was rejected and did not form the basis of the Fed. Griffin has very badly twisted the history here.

I also found his discussion of the Russian Revolution irritating. "Oh, my gosh, guess what?" he hyperventilates. "The October Revolution wasn't a revolution, it was a small-scale insurrection, or coup, directed by a small group of Bolsheviks." Oh, wait. EVERY serious history student knows that. But whatever, blah, blah, blah...

Mr. Griffin also operates the site freedom-force.org, which is collecting membership fee for an unclear service and which solely seems to benefits him. This site seems to support his book sales. In general his views are lacking foundation and proper research. He also claims wrongly that the IMF activities are indirectly financed by the US taxpayers.

[Mr Shahabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are books that you talk about with friends, then there are books that you summerize with a line or two, and their are books that you just put down after finishing it and rethink the way of Things Shapes and Takes forms around you, philosophically. Sociological, spiritually. And this book, is more focused on Politically/Economical insight.

A recommendation for anyone who can handle almost-like 600+ pages of textbooks


At the end, il leave you with a quote from the Great Andrew Jackson (the 17th President of the US)


"is there no danger to our liberty and independence in a bank that in its nature has so little to bind it to our country? (is there not) cause to tremble for the purity of our elections in peace and for the independence of our country in war?.. Controlling our currency, receiving our public monies. And holding thousands of our citizens in dependence, it would be more formidable and dengerous than a naval and military power of the enemy. "

Think on that.. While having your cup of Capitalistic Tea..

[Kaberoi Rua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply amazing!

Mr. Griffin exposes the fraud behind our money supply, the fed itself, and the criminal cartel running it! Loved the historical presentation of America and Andrew Jackson's long fight against banking cartel on three prior occasions before the Federal Reserve creation in 1913.

Let's renew our prosperity by abolishing this fraudulent scam!

[Wendy Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most thorough, almost too thorough, history on
the (not federal) Federal Reserve (with no reserves). It’s quite grim to be honest, but I’m very glad that I read it. It’s so comprehensive, I’d have to read it a hundred times to be able to retain the information, but the overall impression will definitely last a lifetime with one read.

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

These reviews are limited to 20,000 characters; let's see how many I can use up.

I am fairly engaged with the End the Fed and Hard Money movements, both of which reference this book a lot. I am less involved, though cognisant of the New World Order conspiracists, who do not reference this book, but probably should since Mr. Griffin is drinking their kool-aid.

The main thesis of the book, which I do not disagree with, is that The Federal Reserve is a conspiracy designed by Wall Street Bankers and European financiers at the beginning of the twentieth century with the aim of enriching themselves and their political allies at the expense of the economic prosperity of the populace. Mr. Griffin cites copiously from memoirs and biographies of the men he accuses of concocting the scheme and builds a strong case that the Federal Reserve is not only an instrument of greed, but must be abolished if there is even a chance to avert a global economic collapse.

The Creature from Jekyll Island was first published twenty years ago and has gone through four subsequent editions, the most recent of which was published in 2010. This allowed Mr. Griffin to examine and discuss the fallout from the housing bubble bust and Great Recession of 2008, in addition to his preexisting analysis of the founding of Amtrak and the bailouts of major banks in the early 1980's and the savings & loan crisis later in that decade. At the time of the housing bubble burst and subsequent bailout of major banks I read an editorial in the Huffington Post which lambasted the Bush Administration for being made up of closet socialists since they didn't just let the banks fail. That line of reasoning is used by Mr. Griffin to flesh out his idea of the banker/politician conspiracy, the banks over extend themselves due to uncontrolled greed, find themselves on the brink of collapse, then approach the government for a rescue arguing that they are, in the words of Bank of America this last time 'round, "too big to fail." Since the money that the government uses to rescue the banks ultimately comes from the taxpayers, American citizens have been subsidizing unsound banking practices for the last century through the mechanism of the Federal Reserve.

The main way that this is accomplished is by fooling the public into thinking that Federal Reserve Notes, a.k.a. the green paper slips in your pocket, have value. Mr. Griffin gives a detailed history of money in the book, but suffice it to say that money is a medium of exchange which is part of an economy, economy being the means by which goods and services are produced and transferred. A medium of exchange, by definition, has to have some value that both parties in a transaction agree upon in order for a transaction to take place. In the past, this has been accomplished using horses, semi-precious stones, sea shells, and, most importantly for those of us in the hard money crowd, precious metals. Until 1972, the United States Dollar was backed by gold, today it is backed by debt, both public and private.

Simply put, since there is no true medium of exchange, banks create money from thin air using their ability to maintain a fractional reserve. For a short, easy to understand breakdown, I suggest searching YouTube for the video Money as Debt. Suffice it to say that one of Mr. Griffin's reasons for wanting the Federal Reserve abolished is that the current monetary system is designed to keep people in debt, because if debt were paid off the money supply would disappear.

As stated above, these are issues where Mr. Griffin and I agree. Day to day politics aside, current global economic affairs do not make sense. What amounts to speculative gambling is more glorified than honest labor and countries around the world, Mr. Griffin uses as examples Tanzania and Russia, do not produce enough grain to feed their populations. I would add that American farm policy is atrocious and has been since World War I.

Where Mr. Griffin loses me is when he heads down the NWO path. I have always been sceptical of this particular theory, and the way Mr. Griffin presents it makes it amazingly unlikely. Mr. Griffin's idea of the NWO is that, globally, bankers and politicians are crafting policies that will eventually lead to governmental and economic collapse, forcing the UN to deploy peacekeepers globally and build a world government wherein the majority of the population is exploited as slave labor in order to enrich the political and financial classes.

My father is a CPA and the working title for his book is Banks Are Stupid. Are banks dumb enough to wreck the global economy in order to make more money for themselves? Absolutely. However, by the same token, they are not smart enough to take advantage of the resulting chaos to institute world government.

There are other, more serious problems with the book. The most salient one being that Mr. Griffin perpetuates the myth that Social Security adds to the deficit. The Social Security Fund is more like a government administered retirement plan, you put money in while you work, you get money out when you retire, it's not an item on the Federal appropriations list. In addition to this, and other glaring errors that should have been caught after five editions (Oxford University is in Oxford, not London) Mr. Griffin excoriates the "welfare state" and its dismantling of work ethic as a means toward the NWO and global hegemony by bankers.

The final straw that knocked this book down from three stars to two, however, was Mr. Griffin's identifying environmentalism as the unifying struggle which will pave the way for world government. His basic premise says that something is needed to unify the people into giving up certain of their freedoms. War often accomplishes this but war is expensive and messy, so an alternative is needed. That alternative, in Mr. Griffin's view, is the environmental movement.

As I said, there is a lot about this book that I agree with. Mr. Griffin gives large amounts of historical evidence about the superiority of hard money over fiat, the technical term for the aforementioned Federal Reserve Notes, as well as the dangers that arise from central banking in general and the Federal Reserve specifically. While I do think that this is worth reading, one must keep in mind that we will not always agree on the minutiae of politics and Mr. Griffin espouses theories that fall solidly into the realm of conspiracist overreaction.

To sum up, if you care at all about economic issues, you should give this a look. It is not a book that you will agree with wholeheartedly, in all likelihood, but the more people understand what the Federal Reserve is and how it works, the more people can put pressure on Congress to bring us back to sound monetary policy, making life better for all of us in the long run.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of how The Federal Reserve was founded out of a conspiracy of international bankers and modeled after the Bank of England. It is a banking cartel which allowed the New York banks to control the monetary system and limit competition. J.P. Morgan from England and John D. Rockefeller controlled the New York banks. A large stake in the New York banks was held by the Rothschilds of England and the Warburgs of Germany.

A secret meeting in 1910 on Jekyll Island, Georgia, developed the plan for the Federal Reserve System, a conspiracy of politicians and bankers. The bankers got a limit to competition and control of the monetary system and politicians got access to unlimited money.

Fractional-reserve banking, perfected by Rothschild, allowed a bank to create money out of nothing by loaning multiples of its reserves. For example a typical reserve of $1000 can back $9000 in loans. The $1000 is in the vault and the $9000 in notes or checking balance is created out of thin air. This is the source of inflation, a hidden tax on everyone who has money. A central bank loans reserves to another bank using the bank's loans as collateral. These reserves can then generate more loans and more collateral so that the typical multiplier is 28. That is $1000 in real money can generate $28,000 interest-paying loans of fiat money. In the case of bank runs that might deplete the limited reserves in the vault, the central bank can step in and loan more reserves of fiat money (money created out of thin air) to satisfy the depositors but with the result of more inflation. This is essentially legalized counterfeiting. Thus a central bank is essential to the success of fractional-reserve banking.

The Jekyll Island plan:
1. Stop the growing influence of small rival banks (particularly in the South and the West) and insure control over the nation's financial resources.
2. Make the money supply more elastic in order to reverse the trend of private capital formation and recapture the industrial loan market
3. Pool the meager reserves of the nation's banks into one large reserve so all banks are motivated to follow the same loan-to-deposit ratios
4. Should this lead to collapse of the whole banking system, then shift the losses from the owners of the banks to the taxpayers
5. Do not call it a cartel nor even a central bank
6. Make it look like a government agency
7. Convince Congress that the scheme was a measure to protect the public
8. Establish regional branches to create the appearance of decentralization, not dominated by Wall Street
9. Begin with a conservative structure including many sound banking principles knowing that the provisions can be quietly altered in subsequent years
10. Use the anger caused by recent panics and bank failures to create popular demand for monetary reform
11. Offer the Jekyll Island plan as though it were in response to that need
12. Employ university professors to give the plan the appearance of academic approval (by giving the professors grants)
13. Speak out against the plan to convince the public the Wall Street bankers do not want it

Look at the above plan from 1910 and tell me do you think it worked for the banks in 2008?