The Unlikely Governor: An American Immigrant's Journey from Wartime Germany to the Federal Reserve Board

A true American odyssey, Robert Heller chronicles the journey from his childhood in wartime Germany to the United States and his career that led him to be a Governor of the Federal Reserve Board and the President of VISA U.S.A. In this entertaining and spell-binding book, he vividly describes the dramatic events of his childhood during World War II as he and his mother survive in the cellars and caves of Germany, while his father leads a rather uneventful life as a translator for the German army. After coming to the U.S., he sets out on a career as a professor at UCLA and then occupies leadership positions at the International Monetary Fund and Bank of America. President Reagan appoints him to the powerful Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He takes us behind the scenes at the Fed as he serves alongside with Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan, revealing what went on behind closed doors in the formulation of U.S. monetary policy and during the banking crisis. He chronicles his return to the private sector, detailing the confused scenes as the credit card giant VISA is torn between chaos and order during his challenging service at the helm of that organization. The book concludes with an insider’s candid and cogent observations of America’s boardrooms and presents numerous lessons learned and obstacles overcome during the course of a most successful career.