About the Author

Alex
J. Pollock is a Senior Fellow of the Mises Institute
and the author of Finance and Philosophy:
Why We're Always Surprised (Paul Dry Books) and Boom and Bust: Financial Cycles and Human Prosperity. He was
Principal Deputy Director of the Office of Financial Research, U.S. Treasury,
from November 2019 to February 2021, and has been a fellow of the R Street
Institute and the American Enterprise Institute, president and CEO of the
Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, and a director of CME Group, Ascendium
Education Group, and the Great Books Foundation. Pollock's work includes the study
of financial systems and their recurring crises; the politics of finance, risk,
and uncertainty; central banking; and housing finance. He is a graduate of
Williams College, the University of Chicago, and Princeton University, and he
lives in Lake Forest, Illinois.

Howard B. Adler is an attorney and
former government official. From May 2019 through January 2021, he served as
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for the Financial Stability
Oversight Council, where he was responsible for monitoring the financial
stability of the United States during the first year of the Covid-19 crisis. He
was awarded the Treasury's Distinguished Service Award for his efforts by the
Secretary of the Treasury. Mr. Adler was a partner for over thirty years in the
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP law firm, where he served as co-head of both
the firm's Corporate Transactional Practice Group and REIT Practice Group.
Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, he served as Executive Vice President and General
Counsel of The Riggs National Bank of Washington, D.C. Mr. Adler has also
served as the Treasurer of the Washington, D.C. Bar and on the Board of
Governing Trustees of American Ballet Theatre. He is a graduate of Johns Hopkins
University and New York University School of Law, and he lives in the
Washington, D.C. area.

Reviews

"A helpful and insightful analysis of current economics . . . The chapters on prime market funds and cryptocurrencies are especially enlightening due to their exploration of regulations, both real and theoretical, that influence their behavior."
--Library Journal "Pollock and Adler masterfully track governments' financial response to the global pandemic--and raise critical questions about the future implications of increasing backstops for housing, student loans, pensions, and maybe even cryptocurrencies. A brilliant and clear recounting of the last two years, and a roadmap for the next potential crisis."
--Winthrop Watson, President and CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh "Without warning the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the globe in early 2020, fundamentally altering the daily lives of billions. At the same time, the pandemic gave rise to a financial crisis that shocked experts and threw markets into a tailspin. This definitive account by two Treasury Department insiders provides critical insight into the causes of that crisis, how it was abated, and how we might be less surprised by the next one. Suffice it to say, it is a must-read book for economic policymakers, investment professionals, and anyone interested in financial markets."
--Heath Tarbert, former Chairman, Commodity Futures Trading Commission

"Tired of government bailouts with taxpayer money? Want government programs designed to maximize benefits while minimizing costs to the public fisc? Thought about risk transfers associated with federal intervention in the market? Then read this book!"
--Keith Noreika, former Acting Comptroller of the Currency

"Surprised Again! does a superb job of revisiting the financial meltdown, government response, and economic recovery triggered by the pandemic. The authors infuse this history with thoughtful reflections on the history of central bank crisis management and the political ramifications of the Federal Reserve and Congressional actions taken to combat the Covid crisis. In the end we learn what perhaps is no surprise: bailouts lead to bubbles, and politicians will never let a crisis go to waste."
--Paul Kupiec, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
PRAISE FOR ALEX POLLOCK'S OTHER BOOKS: "Finance and Philosophy should be required reading in economics classes, or before opening an investment account--and by every member of Congress."
--The Washington Times on Finance and Philosophy "Pollock tells us all we need to know about money and banking, risk and uncertainty, debt and temptation, and science and economics. He delights as he instructs."
--James Grant, founder and editor, Grant's Interest Rate Observer on Finance and Philosophy "Alex J. Pollock isn't angry about the financial panic that erupted in 2008 and knocked the U.S. economy into the worst slump since the 1930s . . . In Boom and Bust, he swiftly identifies the villain―a familiar, sometimes endearing and invariably roguish character known as human nature."
--The Wall Street Journal on Boom and Bust