Such central banks as the Bank of England, the Bundesbank in Germany, and the Federal Reserve affect our lives substantially. They control interest rates, which affect mortgages and other forms of borrowing; they oversee commercial banks; and they monitor nations' currency relationships.

These institutions are becoming even more important, as headlines suggest. The struggle to coordinate interest rates and inflation levels with growth while propping up domestic currencies has taken on political overtones. Yet the professionals who run the central banks are largely invisible powerbrokers with mounting worldwide political influence. What they do remains a mystery to most people.

Drawing on extensive research and numerous interviews, Marjorie Deane and Robert Pringle scrutinize these powerful institutions to shed light on how they operate and the individuals who run them. In comprehensible language, they explore the banks' origins and histories, discuss monetary policy, and consider the implications of events like the recent formation of the European Central Bank and the American savings and loan debacle.

The Central Banks is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand domestic and international finance and how the world's money system works.