Looking at the precedents set by the panic of 1907 and the Great Depression in America, this book investigates the causes of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. The author examines the effects of monetary policy, as well as of expanding and contracting financial cycles, in order to analyze the breakdown of the money market and capital market circuits. The book explores the impact of the Federal Reserve and central banking on monetary policy, and analyzes the role of non-bank financial intermediaries. How can monetary policy resolve the instability of the US financial system? How can financial intermediation work effectively? This timely book highlights how historical lessons can be used to avoid the next financial crisis. It uses historical examples to understand financial crises; compares the Great Recession with the panic of 1907 and the Great Depression; examines the birth of the Federal Reserve and its aims; highlights the role of non-bank financial intermediaries and the crisis of 1929; and investigates the money market after the Second World War.