With the release of his new book "Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World," Alan Greenspan and his handlers have been out there trying to increase his celebrity status to generate more book sales. It seems to be working, as he's taking the celebrity route of bashing President Bush and the Iraq war to accomplish his goal.
Oddly, Greenspan has already backed off some of what he wrote, showing some dishonesty in what he's doing. For example, he wrote "I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil," which he has since admitted that what he said about the war being motivated by oil in the book isn't true.
While Greenspan himself had a lot of detractors of his policy during his tenure as Federal Reserve chairman, it's odd he's attempting to go the celebrity strategy route to increase sales for his book. But then again, the strategy does work over the short term, and will give him a boost.
The celebrity style of writing the book and interjecting his comments into the current state of economic affairs to increase sales makes him look less than what he should from the book. I think it has brought him down a level from where he should have stayed.
His book would have sold well without going the gossipy, bashing route.
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