What is *The Creature from Jekyll Island* about?

*The Creature from Jekyll Island* by G. Edward Griffin exposes the secret 1910 meeting on Jekyll Island where bankers drafted the blueprint for the Federal Reserve. Griffin argues the Federal Reserve enables economic instability, funds wars through fiat money creation, and operates as a cartel that transfers financial risk to taxpayers. The book critiques central banking’s role in inflation, wealth confiscation, and erosion of economic freedom.

Who should read *The Creature from Jekyll Island*?

This book suits readers interested in alternative economic theories, conspiracy histories, or critiques of centralized financial systems. It appeals to those questioning mainstream narratives about banking, monetary policy, or the Federal Reserve’s role in crises. Griffin’s controversial perspective also attracts audiences exploring libertarian or anti-establishment viewpoints.

Is *The Creature from Jekyll Island* worth reading?

While criticized as a conspiracy theory, the book offers a provocative analysis of central banking’s historical origins and systemic flaws. Its detailed critique of fiat currency and fractional-reserve banking makes it valuable for understanding non-mainstream economic arguments. Readers should balance Griffin’s claims with orthodox economic sources.

Who is G. Edward Griffin?

G. Edward Griffin (b. 1931) is an American author, filmmaker, and conspiracy theorist known for works like *The Creature from Jekyll Island* and *The Capitalist Conspiracy*. A vocal critic of central banking and government overreach, he argues history is shaped by elite collusion. His career blends documentary production with advocacy for libertarian causes.

What is the main argument against the Federal Reserve in *The Creature from Jekyll Island*?

Griffin asserts the Federal Reserve is a private banking cartel that creates money from nothing, causing inflation, boom-bust cycles, and wealth redistribution to elites. By monopolizing currency issuance, it enables unchecked government spending and corporate bailouts, undermining economic stability.

What happened at the Jekyll Island meeting according to Griffin?

In 1910, six financiers and politicians secretly met on Jekyll Island, Georgia, to design a central banking system. Griffin claims this meeting laid the groundwork for the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, which shifted monetary control to private banks under the guise of public interest.

How does Griffin define usury in the book?

Griffin defines usury as charging interest on loans of fiat money created ex nihilo. Unlike lending tangible assets, this practice enriches banks through debt-based currency issuance, distorting markets and confiscating wealth via inflation.

What are the criticisms of *The Creature from Jekyll Island*?

Critics dismiss the book as a conspiracy theory lacking academic rigor, citing its oversimplification of banking history and partisan bias. Mainstream economists reject Griffin’s claims about the Federal Reserve’s illegitimacy and his advocacy for a gold standard.

The creature from Jekyll Island

a second look at the Federal Reserve

G. Edward Griffin

4.29(6601 Reviews)

Overview of The creature from Jekyll Island

Unmasking the secretive 1910 meeting that birthed America's central banking system. With over 6,400 Goodreads ratings, this controversial expose reveals how a banking cartel allegedly controls our economy. What financial truths are being hidden from you by the Federal Reserve?

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Chapter 1

The Shadowy Birth of Modern Banking

In the dimly lit halls of a private island retreat off the coast of Georgia, a secret gathering would forever change the course of American finance. The year was 1910, and aboard a private railway car traveling south from New Jersey were seven men who controlled approximately one-fourth of the world's wealth. Their destination: Jekyll Island, a secluded resort owned by J.P. Morgan. Their mission: to craft what would become the Federal Reserve System, America's central bank. This clandestine meeting, initially denied by historians but later confirmed by the participants themselves, represented one of history's most consequential financial conspiracies. "The Creature from Jekyll Island" has become a cult classic in financial circles, praised by Ron Paul and cited by countless monetary reformers. G. Edward Griffin's meticulously researched expose has sold over half a million copies since its publication in 1994, remaining persistently relevant as financial crises continue to plague global economies. The book's enduring popularity stems from its ability to translate complex banking mechanisms into understandable terms while revealing the troubling origins of our modern monetary system.

Chapter 2

The Secret Conclave That Birthed the Federal Reserve

The Jekyll Island meeting represented a watershed moment in American financial history, one that would fundamentally reshape the nation's monetary system. In November 1910, under the cover of a duck hunting expedition, seven of the most powerful men in American finance gathered at an exclusive club off Georgia's coast. The attendees included Senator Nelson Aldrich (Rockefeller's father-in-law and chairman of the National Monetary Commission), Abraham Piatt Andrew (Assistant Treasury Secretary), Frank Vanderlip (president of National City Bank, predecessor to Citibank), Henry Davison (J.P. Morgan Company senior partner), Charles Norton (president of Morgan's First National Bank), Benjamin Strong (head of Morgan's Bankers Trust), and Paul Warburg (Kuhn, Loeb & Company partner representing the Rothschild banking dynasty). These men weren't merely wealthy individuals but represented the absolute pinnacle of American and European financial power. By 1910, control over America's financial resources had consolidated around two main centers: the Morgan group, which dominated Wall Street and corporate finance, and the Rockefeller group, which controlled numerous banks and industries through Standard Oil. These American interests were closely tied to European counterparts in the Rothschild and Warburg dynasties, creating a transatlantic banking alliance. The subsequent Pujo Committee investigation of 1912-1913 would later confirm this concentration, concluding that a small group of financial leaders had established "identity and community of interest" resulting in unprecedented concentration of money and credit control. The investigation revealed that these groups together controlled assets worth over $22 billion - an astronomical sum for that era. The meeting's secrecy was extraordinary and meticulously planned. Participants used only first names throughout their stay, traveled separately on different trains to avoid recognition, and employed specially screened staff at the island lodge who were sworn to secrecy. The attendees' luggage tags were deliberately mislabeled, and a cover story about a duck hunting expedition was carefully crafted. Even the journey to Jekyll Island was shrouded in secrecy. "We were instructed to come one at a time and as unobtrusively as possible to the railroad terminal on the New Jersey littoral of the Hudson, where Senator Aldrich's private car would be in readiness," Frank Vanderlip later admitted in a 1935 Saturday Evening Post article. "Once aboard the private car, we began to observe the taboo that had been fixed on last names. We addressed one another as 'Ben,' 'Paul,' 'Nelson,' 'Abe' - it is amazing how much first-name camaraderie accomplishes with Americans." What emerged from this nine-day meeting was the detailed blueprint for the Federal Reserve System - essentially a banking cartel disguised as a government agency. The plan meticulously addressed five key objectives: stopping the growing influence of small rival banks that were expanding rapidly in the Midwest and West, making the money supply more elastic to recapture industrial loan markets from private capital sources, pooling reserves of all banks to protect against bank runs and seasonal cash shortages, shifting possible losses from bank owners to taxpayers through government backing, and convincing Congress this complex scheme primarily protected the public interest rather than private banking profits. The group worked tirelessly, often for 12 hours a day, drafting what would eventually become the Aldrich Plan, the foundation for the Federal Reserve Act of 1913.

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Chapter 3

The Bailout Game: How Banks Socialize Losses

The banking system operates according to specific rules that remain hidden from public view. The primary goal is shifting bank losses to taxpayers while privatizing profits. Banks create money from nothing through loans, earning profit from interest rather than repayment. When large loans default, special mechanisms protect banks from losses that would normally fall on their owners. Unlike small loans to individuals and businesses, massive loans to corporations and governments receive federal protection through various guarantee mechanisms. When borrowers can't repay loans, banks "roll over" the debt, appearing to make concessions while actually advancing toward perpetual interest collection. When borrowers can't even pay interest, banks create additional money out of nothing and lend it to the borrower specifically to make interest payments. This pattern has repeated throughout modern history. In 1970, Penn Central Railroad became America's biggest bankruptcy with $96,000 employees. It was deeply indebted to major banks including Chase Manhattan, Morgan Guaranty, and Continental Illinois. These banks had placed their officers on Penn Central's board as a condition for loans, gradually taking control of management while also holding large blocks of company stock in their trust departments. When Penn Central failed, Federal Reserve Chairman Arthur Burns mobilized the central banking system to ensure money flowed to the banks. Congress ultimately passed the Emergency Rail Services Act of 1970, providing $125 million in federal loan guarantees, which led to nationalization through AMTRAK and CONRAIL. Similar patterns emerged with Lockheed (1970), New York City (1975), Chrysler (1978), and most dramatically with Continental Illinois in 1984. Though only 4% of Continental's liabilities were covered by FDIC insurance, regulators felt compelled to cover the entire $69 billion exposure. FDIC Director Sprague admitted they could legally have paid only insured depositors and "let everything else collapse," but this option was never seriously considered. The Federal Reserve's role was crucial in these bailouts-creating money to prevent collapses from emptying the entire FDIC fund. This fulfilled precisely the purpose for which the Fed was created at Jekyll Island: manufacturing money to cover cartel losses. The Fed provided "unlimited liquidity support" that reached $8 billion by 1984 and $9.24 billion by early 1986. When explaining this to the Senate Banking Committee, Fed Chairman Paul Volcker confirmed: "The operation is the most basic function of the Federal Reserve. It was why it was founded."

Chapter 4

The Mandrake Mechanism: Creating Money from Nothing

The Federal Reserve creates money out of nothing, a process Griffin names after the comic strip character Mandrake the Magician, who could conjure objects from thin air. This process begins when money springs into existence at the moment it is borrowed and vanishes when the debt is repaid. Unlike historical fractional reserve systems that required gold or silver reserves of 40% or more, modern money has no precious metal backing whatsoever-the fraction is effectively 0%, representing a complete departure from traditional banking principles. Our entire money supply exists solely as debt. This creates a paradoxical situation: if everyone simultaneously paid back all loans, including mortgages, car loans, credit cards, and government bonds, there would not be a single penny in circulation-all currency would return to bank vaults and checking accounts would zero out. Money would literally disappear from the economy. Marriner Eccles, Governor of the Federal Reserve in 1941, confirmed this startling reality when testifying before Congress: "If there were no debts in our money system, there wouldn't be any money." This admission reveals the fundamental nature of our monetary system. The mechanism begins with government debt, primarily through bonds or Treasury notes that are promises to pay with interest. These IOUs become the foundation for almost the entire nation's money supply through a complex process. The Federal Reserve accepts these bonds as "securities assets," then creates a liability by writing a check against no existing funds. This check, which would constitute fraud if written by any private citizen or institution, is legal for the Fed because Congress has granted it unique authority to create money this way, allowing government spending without directly raising taxes or openly printing currency. When the government deposits this check and uses it for expenses like military spending, social programs, or infrastructure, recipients deposit these funds in commercial banks. These deposits become both liabilities (owed to depositors) and assets (on hand) for the banks. Through fractional-reserve banking, banks need keep only 10% as "reserves" while lending out the remaining 90% as "excess reserves." This creates new money out of nothing, on which banks collect interest from borrowers, multiplying the money supply further. The cycle continues as these loans return as new deposits. Each time, banks can lend another 90% of the new deposits, creating additional money from nothing. Through multiple iterations, the banking system ultimately creates approximately nine times the original government debt in new money. Combined with the original debt, this process creates a hidden tax up to ten times the national debt through inflation, as the expanding money supply diminishes the purchasing power of existing dollars. This system means the federal government could theoretically operate at current spending levels without levying any direct taxes by simply creating money through the Federal Reserve System. In fact, most government spending already occurs this way. However, the resulting inflation functions as a hidden tax that falls most heavily on those least able to protect themselves: the thrifty, retirees on fixed incomes, and middle to lower income brackets who can't easily hedge against inflation through real estate or stock market investments.

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Chapter 5

The New Alchemy: War, Debt, and Banking Profits

The ancient alchemists sought in vain to convert lead into gold, spending centuries pursuing this elusive transformation. Modern alchemists, however, have succeeded in their own version of this quest, though through far more insidious means. The lead bullets of war have yielded an endless source of gold for those who control the Mandrake Mechanism. Without the ability to create fiat money - currency backed by nothing but government decree - most modern wars simply would not have occurred. The sheer scale of military spending requires monetary expansion that only fiat currency can provide. The Rothschild banking dynasty, having financed European wars since the Napoleonic era, developed a sophisticated formula that has been meticulously followed by financial powers ever since: 1) War is the ultimate discipline to any government, forcing it to sacrifice everything for survival, including monetary sovereignty; 2) To ensure government debt expansion, involve it in war or the constant threat of war, creating perpetual demand for financing; 3) Provide money to build credible military enemies if none exist naturally, ensuring continuous conflict; 4) Replace governments that refuse to finance wars through debt, often through covert means or economic pressure; 5) Never allow any nation to become militarily stronger than its adversaries, as peace would reduce debt and diminish banking profits. This pattern was starkly evident in World War I, where the manipulation of international finance reached new heights. England and France borrowed heavily from American investors through the House of Morgan, who profited enormously in dual roles as both bond agent and purchasing agent. When German submarines began threatening Allied shipping and victory seemed uncertain, bond sales faltered, endangering Morgan's cash flow and risking default on previously sold bonds worth hundreds of millions. The solution required American government money, but neutrality laws prevented this intervention - America needed to enter the war directly. The sinking of the Lusitania provided the perfect pretext for war entry. Though presented to the public as merely a British passenger liner, she was secretly registered as an armed auxiliary cruiser carrying contraband war materials, including six million rounds of ammunition. When the German embassy attempted to warn American passengers by placing newspaper advertisements about the danger of sailing on British ships, the U.S. State Department actively blocked their publication. After a German torpedo hit, a massive internal explosion - likely from the munitions cargo - sank her in just 18 minutes. The resulting anti-German sentiment was carefully cultivated by pro-war media, eventually pulling America into the conflict and enabling massive credits to the Allies. This cynical pattern continued through World War II, where Hitler's rise to power was heavily financed by American and British bankers seeking profit opportunities. I.G. Farben, a massive German chemical cartel and primary source of Hitler's political funding that later ran Nazi slave labor camps, received much of its capital from prominent Wall Street firms including Rockefeller's National City Bank, Dillon Read, Morgan's Equitable Trust, and even the Jewish-owned Kuhn, Loeb & Company. These financial ties continued even after war began, with many American corporations maintaining business relationships with Nazi Germany through neutral countries, demonstrating how profit motives often transcend political and moral considerations.

Chapter 6

The Creature Swallows Congress

The Federal Reserve Act's passage in 1913 exemplified power politics and voter deception. Republican President William Howard Taft had earned the animosity of powerful Republicans when he refused to support the Aldrich Plan. The bankers needed someone who would champion their plan in the White House. Despite Taft's popularity and likely re-election, the bankers engineered a three-way race by persuading Teddy Roosevelt to run as the "Bull Moose" candidate on the Progressive Party ticket, splitting the Republican vote and putting Democrat Woodrow Wilson into office. The bankers funded all three candidates, with special attention to Wilson and Roosevelt. Once elected, Wilson allowed Colonel Edward Mandell House to effectively run the government. House had helped maneuver the U.S. into World War I and rescued Morgan's massive loans to Britain and France. As Wilson's personal adviser, House guided every aspect of foreign and economic policy. Biographer Arthur Smith noted House "holds a power never wielded before in this country by any man out of office." The Jekyll Island team needed to hold a funeral for the Aldrich Plan without actually burying it. Democratic Congressman Carter Glass, Chairman of the House Banking and Currency Committee and an outspoken critic of the Aldrich plan, became instrumental in this rebranding effort. His bill-drafted by H. Parker Willis who was Professor Laughlin's protege and hired by the National Citizens' League-was essentially the Aldrich Bill in new clothing. Aldrich and Vanderlip publicly opposed the Glass-Owen Bill with theatrical displays of outrage. Vanderlip warned of fiat money and inflation while Aldrich called it "revolutionary" and a step toward autocracy. But during a debate with Glass before the New York Economic Society, Vanderlip accidentally revealed the truth: "For years, bankers have been almost the sole advocates of just this sort of legislation." William Jennings Bryan, the most influential Democrat in Congress, initially refused to support any bill that allowed private banks to issue money. When he saw the draft bill in 1913, he was dismayed to find private bankers would both issue currency and control the central bank. His ultimatum was clear: Federal Reserve notes must be Treasury currency issued by the government, and the governing body must be appointed by the President and approved by the Senate. Carter Glass later revealed the deceptive nature of these "compromises" in his book. When Wilson told Glass they would make Federal Reserve notes obligations of the U.S. government, Glass was speechless, explaining that the currency would only be backed by a small amount of gold, commercial debt, and bank assets. "It would be a pretense on its face," he protested. Wilson replied: "Exactly so, Glass. Every word you say is true; the government liability is a mere thought. And so, if we can hold the substance of the thing and give the other fellow the shadow, why not do it, if thereby we may save our bill?"

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Chapter 7

The Great Duck Dinner: The Crash of 1929

The Federal Reserve Act was deliberately written with vague language and omissions to avoid debate over details and allow flexibility for future interpretation. The goal was to pass the bill first and perfect it later. Since then, the Act has been amended 195 times, expanding the System's power and scope to the point where it would be almost unrecognizable to the Congress members who originally voted for it. Despite the Federal Reserve's supposed decentralized structure with twelve regional banks, the New York branch quickly dominated the system. Benjamin Strong, who had helped draft the cartel's structure at Jekyll Island, ruled as an autocrat, often determining Fed policy without consulting the Federal Reserve Board in Washington. During and after World War I, the Federal Reserve orchestrated the confiscation of billions from American taxpayers to support the central banks of England and France. The Fed financed 70% of America's war costs through inflation rather than taxes. After the war, the transfusion of American dollars continued to pull England out of depression through artificially low interest rates and deliberate inflation of the American money supply. Between 1920 and 1929, three distinct business cycles occurred, creating a destructive roller-coaster for average Americans and investors. The Fed repeatedly inflated and contracted the money supply: inflating to pay for WWI; raising rates in 1920 causing recession; lowering rates in 1921 to help Europe; tightening credit in 1923; creating $500 million in 1924 that banks expanded to $4 billion; contracting when the Florida land boom collapsed in 1926; pumping money after Montagu Norman's 1927 visit; contracting in spring 1928; then expanding by almost $2 billion to aid the Bank of England before finally contracting in August by selling Treasury bonds and raising rates. During America's 1920s credit expansion, stock market prices became purely speculative. Buyers ignored fundamentals, with stocks trading at 20-50 times earnings. Speculators bought merely to sell at a profit-the "Greater-Fool" strategy. Investors purchased stocks on margin, putting down as little as 10% and borrowing the rest from brokers who got it from banks who got it from the Fed. From August 1921 to September 1929, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 597%. After a secret February 1929 meeting between Montagu Norman, Federal Reserve officers, and Treasury Secretary Mellon, financial insiders were warned to exit the market. The Federal Reserve advised member banks to liquidate stock holdings, and Paul Warburg warned of "ultimate collapse" in his International Acceptance Bank report. John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Joseph Kennedy, Bernard Baruch, and other Wall Street giants all got out before the Crash. No member of the interlocking directorate between the Federal Reserve and major New York banks was caught by surprise.

Chapter 8

The Road to Totalitarianism

America has become mired in debt. By 1995, the federal debt had grown to $5 trillion-about 80% of all goods and services produced in America annually. Interest payments consume 14% of federal revenue, exceeding defense spending and all major departments combined. This costs taxpaying families over $5,000 annually, producing nothing but interest payments. The doomsday mechanism operates as government grows larger than the productive sector. More people work for government than manufacturing; more receive government checks than pay income taxes. When citizens can vote to transfer wealth to themselves, the ballot box becomes a weapon for plunder. Entitlements now represent 52% of federal outlays, growing at 12% yearly. Combined with interest payments, two-thirds of federal expenses are automatic and increasing. None of these economic problems are accidental. They're part of a plan to create a functional world government within the UN framework. This New World Order is designed on socialist principles, using two primary weapons of control: a world military command to control all national armies, and a world central bank (IMF/World Bank) that can issue a common currency all nations must accept. The New World Order cannot function while America remains independent. American leaders who are Council on Foreign Relations members are working to weaken the United States both militarily and economically. American soldiers increasingly fight under UN authority, as seen in Korea, Iraq, Yugoslavia, Bosnia, Somalia, and Haiti. Plans are underway to transfer American atomic weapons to international control. Simultaneously, the American economy is being deliberately exhausted through foreign aid and domestic spending to bring the system down, preparing citizens to accept "rescue" by the world bank. Abolishing the Federal Reserve requires careful steps to avoid economic chaos. The plan includes: repealing legal-tender laws, freezing the Federal Reserve Note supply, defining the dollar in precious-metal terms (371.25 grains of silver), establishing gold as auxiliary reserve, restoring free coinage, paying off national debt with newly-created Federal Reserve Notes, pledging government gold and silver as backing, calculating real-dollar value of each Note, retiring all Notes by exchanging them for real dollars, converting all contracts to the new standard, issuing 100%-backed Silver Certificates, abolishing the Fed, introducing free banking with 100% reserves for demand deposits, reducing government size, and restoring national independence by withdrawing from entangling international agreements. The case against the Federal Reserve System extends beyond technical banking discussions to include war, revolution, depression, and fraud. The seven reasons to abolish the Fed are: it cannot accomplish its stated objectives, operates as a cartel against public interest, is the supreme instrument of usury, generates unfair taxation, encourages war, destabilizes the economy, and serves as an instrument of totalitarianism. Though the recovery plan may have technical flaws requiring refinement by specialists and legislators, we must begin the process. The Creature has grown powerful, compelling masses to serve it, but it can be slain through truth and determination.

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Key Themes in The creature from Jekyll Island

central banking history
fractional reserve banking
monetary system origins
financial cartel dynamics
fiat money creation

Quotes from The creature from Jekyll Island

...essentially a banking cartel disguised as a government agency.
...shifting bank losses to taxpayers while privatizing profits.
Banks create money from nothing through loans...
The operation is the most basic function of the Federal Reserve.
The Federal Reserve creates money out of nothing...

Characters in The creature from Jekyll Island

G. Edward GriffinAuthor and researcher of the Federal Reserve
Nelson AldrichSenator and chairman of the Monetary Commission
Paul WarburgBanking partner representing European interests
Frank VanderlipPresident of National City Bank
Benjamin StrongHead of J.P. Morgan's Bankers Trust

About the Author

G. Edward Griffin, author of The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve, is a provocative financial historian and conspiracy researcher renowned for dissecting complex economic systems.

Born in Detroit in 1931, Griffin blends decades of investigative filmmaking and political advocacy to analyze banking, monetary policy, and institutional power structures.

His bestselling 1994 exposé—a cornerstone of alternative economics—delves into the Federal Reserve’s origins and global banking networks, themes amplified by his membership in the John Birch Society and leadership role at Freedom Force International.

Griffin’s works, including the cancer-therapy critique World Without Cancer and United Nations analysis The Fearful Master, challenge mainstream narratives through meticulously researched books and documentaries like The Capitalist Conspiracy.

A frequent speaker and media guest, his ideas have influenced libertarian and conspiracy theory circles for generations. The Creature from Jekyll Island remains a cult classic, praised for its unflinching critique of central banking and its enduring relevance in economic discourse.

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Chapter 2

The creature from Jekyll Island

OverviewOverview of The creature from Jekyll Island

One book. Many ways to hear it.

The Shadowy Birth of Modern Banking

The Secret Conclave That Birthed the Federal Reserve

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The Bailout Game: How Banks Socialize Losses

The Mandrake Mechanism: Creating Money from Nothing

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The New Alchemy: War, Debt, and Banking Profits

The Creature Swallows Congress

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The Great Duck Dinner: The Crash of 1929

The Road to Totalitarianism

You made it to the end of The creature from Jekyll Island

Key Themes in The creature from Jekyll Island

Quotes from The creature from Jekyll Island

Characters in The creature from Jekyll Island

About the Author

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Part of a Learning Plan

Macro Economy

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1,000,000+ curious minds.

1,000,000+ curious minds.

One book. Many ways to hear it.

The Shadowy Birth of Modern Banking

The Secret Conclave That Birthed the Federal Reserve

See every word as you hear it

The Bailout Game: How Banks Socialize Losses

The Mandrake Mechanism: Creating Money from Nothing

Get more out of The creature from Jekyll Island

The New Alchemy: War, Debt, and Banking Profits

The Creature Swallows Congress

See every word as you hear it

The Great Duck Dinner: The Crash of 1929

The Road to Totalitarianism

You made it to the end of The creature from Jekyll Island

Users also liked

Part of a Learning Plan

Macro Economy

Discover more

Overview of The creature from Jekyll Island