History and Purpose of Central Banking -- Post---World War II Macroeconomic Policy -- Contemporary Federal Reserve Policy -- lobalization, Deregulation, Mounting Global Capital Flows -- New Activism by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Japan -- Financial Crises -- Asset Price Bubbles -- How the U.S. Central Bank Dealt with a Disastrous Credit Crisis -- An Evaluation of Contemporary Fed Chairmen -- Conclusions.