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

Once in a while I read a book that changes my view of the world. It's akin to having blinkers removed from my eyes. Books on that - short - list include 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance', 'The Naked Ape', 'Games People Play' and, now, 'The Creature from Jekyll Island.' The book could be superficially seen as yet another conspiracy theory book, a style of book which I generally dislike. When people like Robert Kiyosaki recommend such a book though, I decided that it was worth reading for self-education. Like most people I know, I've wondered how on earth we came to the Global Financial Crisis that is destroying so many lives and futures around the world. I'm familiar with the usual answers: 'Consumers and countries overspent and now it's time to pay the piper', 'The rise of China', and so on; but none of those answers provide a framework within which to understand how we got there or why we keep essentially being told that this was inevitable but that Government is protecting us - a nonsensical story if ever I heard one. This book does provide that framework. The index alone is interesting, particularly for a book that is written about such a dry subject as the Federal Reserve! I had a smile just looking at the format of the index. At the beginning, and in many places throughout the book, the story reads almost as a cross between a biography and a detective story, spanning a century of conscious financial abuse and mismanagement for private gain. There are whimsical stories that beautifully illustrate the central ideas. The first point the book makes is that the Federal Reserve is neither Federal, nor a Bank. It is instead a cartel of bankers, one of who's primary goals is to shift responsibility for bank losses from their collective shoulders to those of the taxpayers - in this case of the USA. There are other serious points, which the author freely admits might seem at first like overstating the case. He goes on however to, in my opinion, amply support his conclusions. I found myself hooked from the beginning. Unbelievably for a book like this, I found it difficult to put down and I specifically made time in my day to read chapters when I could, even at the expense of sleep. This is a scary book, one that opened my eyes to some serious economic history. One that provides a good argument in support of the assertion that the banks have literally hijacked the US economy; causing enormous hardship to the taxpayers, an enormous devaluing of the dollar, transfer of US national wealth to their own pockets and its movement overseas; and that they are essentially in the process of doing the same thing globally. Is the book correct in its assertions? The argument convinced me although you'll need to draw your own conclusions. As an example though, the day after completing the book I read a news article discussing a British proposal to jail senior bankers who breach their fiduciary duty. Despite having an MBA I would previously not have been able to put many of the arguments into any significant context. Instead, I suddenly found myself clearly understanding the papers' conclusions and understanding why this idea is so critical to solving the GFC for the long term. Without measures like this, the Creature from Jekyll Island is likely to survive, to continue its quiet digestion of our collective global wealth and to reach out again in just a few years to bite us - but much harder next time.

I love this book! So much history explained. It is a thick read, but definitely worth it!

I didn't know exactly what to expect from The Creature from Jekyll Island. I knew very little about the US Federal Reserve Bank (okay, nothing about the US Federal Reserve Band). But I wanted to learn more. I asked ChatGPT to recommend five good books about The Fed. Two on the list were textbooks, which were not what I was looking for. The top book on the list was The Creature from Jekyll Island. I had read about the conspiracy theory aspects of the book, but frankly, I do not care. All books such as The Creature from Jekyll Island are based heavily upon the opinions of the author. I came away with a good understanding of the creation of the US Fed and the history of previous attempts to create a national bank in the US. That was my primary objective. The rest of icing on the cake. Do I believe every word of The Creature from Jekyll Island? No. Is there a lot of fascinating and useful information in The Creature? Yes. If you are looking for a starting point for your education on the US Federal Reserve System, I highly recommend The Creature from Jekyll Island.

If banking is a mystery to you, read "The Creature from Jekyll Island" and you'll have a better understanding of why today's economic policies are so dangerous to our economy and to our freedom. If you think that the Federal Reserve is an "independent" agency that "protects" our banking system and currency, read "The Creature" and you'll never think of the Fed the same way again. Even if you already have a good, basic understanding of how the banking system works, as I did, "The Creature" is a worthwhile read because it provides a good review of the basics together with a lot of enlightening historical and international detail. Griffin cuts through all the high-sounding jargon and reassuring platitudes surrounding the "independent" Federal Reserve and its (deliberately) confusing programs to "stimulate" or "correct" the economy. He exposes it for what it is once you cut through all the claptrap ("quantitative easing," "discount rate," FOMC meetings, etc): a very effective scheme for major banks to profit at our expense with little risk and with the enthusiastic cooperation of politicians who benefit from being able to issue an endless supply of debt to fund their political schemes. Jekyll Island was the meeting place of a handful of powerful bankers who, in 1910, put together the structure of the Federal Reserve and the strategy for getting it passed by Congress. Griffin explains what was clearly behind the creation of the Fed, how it basically is a cartel of major banks, and how it consistently debases our currency and causes turmoil in our economy. He explains how banks create "money" out of nothing -- every time you deposit $1 in a bank, the bank, on average, lends out $10. The $9 difference has no meaningful backing -- no gold, no silver, no savings, no production -- nothing. But the bankers charge interest on each of those ten dollars. This is called "fractional reserve" banking, another harmless sounding name for economic poison. And politicians cheer on and protect the Fed because the Fed allows the government to spend more and more by issuing debt. Does it matter? You bet. One dollar today has the purchasing power of four cents when the Fed was created by Congress in late 1913. And the size and reach of the Federal government has grown massively thanks to the Federal Reserve's "purchases" of all the debt the government cares to issue. Griffin goes much further in tracing the international connections of central banks and their inexorable push towards bigger government and even world government. Today the Fed is doing what it has always done, but it's doing it at a pace and level never before seen. "The Creature from Jekyll Island" will give you the details and history to cut through the smoke screen and recognize just how dangerous the Fed, together with its supporting major banks and power-hungry politicians, really is.

Excellent book for anyone who is not afraid to dive deep into the history of the federal reserve. Took a long time to get through, but really enjoyed the read. High quality cover, spine, and pages. No issues with readability. Would not recommend if you are prone to anxiety. The only thing that I would recommend is an abridged version that provides an update of the forward looking "what would I recommend" section of this book.

While the author's opinion sometimes blows me away, when I look at the background research and footnotes, I realize time and again that he is dead serious. I shouldn't really use the word "opinion" because the book seems more of a compilation of facts put in front of the reader in such a way that the mystery of today's financial world is unravelled like never before. There is too much high quality material covered in "The Creature" to summarize in a short review - and I'm not a person who is inclined to write lengthy reviews anyway. Let me just share one point of interest. In my high school years the Ethiopian hunger crisis was in full swing and "everyone" in my class felt the need to peer pressure everyone else into contributing to the charity drive. I had a very strong hunch that the "scheme" appeared to be a "fraud" and so I didn't - which didn't sit too well with my classmates as you can probably imagine. I probably don't have to tell you that unfortunately for the starving Ethiopian population the proceeds of the charity drive mostly didn't appear to reach the intended recipients as most of the food stocks purchased were "confiscated" by the Ethiopian military, rebels and whoever not shouldn't have had access, but in this very book I read that the hunger crisis was actually manufactured by the Ethiopian government in a drive towards a form of government that had already been proven to appear to disempower the population, deprive people of their individual rights and cause tremendous chaos. Call me late to the game if you were already aware of this, but for those who aren't, Edward Griffin has this and many other "surprises" in store. I haven't even finished the book but I can definitely say this has already been a big eye opener for me. Apart from a wish that he run spell check on it, I am very glad that I bought it. Highly recommended for anywone who wishes to further educate her/himself on the historic and current workings and behind the scenes motivations of the financial community. Let's not forget that we are all, as taxpayers, investors, consumers, etc., participants in the financial community no matter how insignificant we may consider ourselves to be. I believe that Griffin wants to encourage us to make smarter choices with regard to money. At least, he appears to be handing us quite a few tools for more educated decision making with his research.

This book is one of the greatest exposures of the evil that the Federal Reserve has become that exists today. It is a scholarly book with every assertion, episode, accusation and characterization documented with original support references. I am a CPA and a financial and social conservative. I have been aware of the dangerous and illegal activities of the Federal Reserve for years. I thought I was well informed on the Creature until I read this book which has been on my reading list for twenty years ever since I read the book "The House of Rothschild". If I didn't get my Kindle as a present recently it would probably still be on the list and unread. I have known for years that the FED. creates money out of NOTHING but I have grossly underestimated the extent to which this has taken .place over the last 100 years and the extent to which it has favored Foreign Nations throughout its history at the expense of the American Taxpayer . To say that the activities of the FED are illegal is a gross understatement. According to this book the people who have been running the FED (mostly Banks to big to let them go bankrupt) are not only guilty of grand theft but also of high treason. The activities of The FED can be directly tied to The Great Depression and most of the financial bubbles that have taken place since its creation. Most Americans believe the FED is part of the U. S. Government, It is not. It is owned and controlled by banks which includes control indirectly by foreign banks. The Federal Reserve needs to be audited by The U.S. Government to confirms the history of its atrocities and then closed down. To be replaced by a government controlled institution capable of honestly performing the complex duties that our government turned over to this organization over 100 years ago.

I purchased this book because I heard it mentioned on a video I was watching. The author begins with telling the story about a secretive meeting that happened decades ago on Jekyll Island, Georgia between some very powerful people of the time. The results are the Federal Reserve and massive debt that has been placed on the citizenary of the USA via bailout after bailout. The author explains these bailouts in detail from the earliest ones to the Bush and Obama massive debt accumulations. He includes those who've been enriched by these then and now. No, the average middle class taxpayer isn't one of them. What I really appreciate is his extensive footnotes and bibliography. You can substantiate his assertions for yourself. It is very unsettling the insurmountable debt that has been laid on the middle class that has significantly benefited a few. Being unaware isn't bliss. I think the reason that most of these actions have occurred because we have been kept uninformed so we are kept unaware because if you knew what has been done to you, your children, your children's children you may have done something to stop it. In the last few chapters the author talks about what we can do. Personally, I believe, unless we publically examine these bailouts and hold the politicians, Federal Reserve, and the enriched corporate executives responsible for them, it is too late. We should demand all the money back, that includes monies paid to them personally.