His Timing Might Be Perfect

Get ready to see a lot more of former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan in a few months. He'll be out promoting his memoirs, set for publication this fall, right at the peak of the summer real estate sales season - just when large numbers of anxious sellers face hesitant buyers.

His timing might be perfect.

With a new psychology overtaking the nation's housing market as subprime lenders fall, ARMs reset, and foreclosures rise, there should be an entirely new pricing dynamic at play as the former Fed Chairman goes on his book tour.

Last week, hearts were sent aflutter when it was announced that he'll be the keynote speaker at the annual publisher's convention in June.

The chairman is coming to BookExpo America.

Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve Board chairman and author of a widely anticipated memoir, will be the keynote speaker June 1 at the publishing industry's annual national convention, to be held in New York from June 1-3.

"We are enormously honored that Dr. Greenspan has agreed to appear at BEA," Lance Fensterman, BookExpo's event director, said Friday in a statement.

"Dr. Greenspan is one of the leading figures of the latter half of the 20th century and his insight, leadership, and impact has affected citizens in the United States and the world at large."

Greenspan, 80, reportedly received $8.5 million for his memoir, "The Age of Turbulence," scheduled to come out this fall from the Penguin Press. After his talk at BookExpo, Greenspan will answer a few questions, from an interviewer he knows quite well — his wife, NBC's Andrea Mitchell.

"We see this as a real coup," said Roger Bilheimer, BookExpo's special events director. "Sure, she's his wife, but she's a smart lady and she's been around the block. I certainly think this is an opportunity for a stimulating conversation."
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Greenspan, widely viewed as the most successful chairman in the Fed's 92-year history, served from 1987 until his retirement, in 2006. He presided over an era of low inflation rates, low unemployment and the longest economic expansion in U.S. history — a decade of uninterrupted growth from March 1991 to March 2001.

Along with the low inflation, low unemployment, and economic expansion came a series of financial bubbles that may or may not still be around when he starts hawking his book.

He will forever be remembered for inflating a housing bubble after the bursting of a stock market bubble - the final verdict on that gambit has yet to be rendered.

A lot can happen in a few months - he may not get the reception he's expecting.