Making it Happen: Fred Goodwin, RBS and the Men Who Blew Up the British Economy

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Review ------ 'This in in to the character of Fred and the political climate of the mid-2000s is one of many that make Martin's account of the RBS c a must-read for students of financial folly' Martin Vander Weyer, The Spectator 'Brilliantly told' The Guardian 'It has left me panting for more' The Scotsman 'In this guide to the financial crisis and RBS's role in it, Iain Martin probably comes closer than anyone to revealing the truth about one of Britain's most hated businessmen' Sunday Times ' Excellent... Wonderful stuff, y and funny at the same time... Alarming' Independent 'Enlightening...Pacy... Anyone with an interest in what exactly happened [with RBS, Fred Godwin and the men who blew up the British economy] and why will enjoy this book' Financial Times 'Martin's book, I have to say, is superb. Clear and compulsively readable, it explains what happened and why with elegance and a strong sense of fair play. I'd spent much of the past few years in a fog of incomprehension and that fog has now lifted' Daily Mail 'What really makes Making it Happen work is the slow inevitability of what's about to occur. There's something strangely intoxicating about watching these titans of finance coming to the gradual realisation that their castles have been built on sand' Telegraph 'Do not read this book if you have high blood pressure. The collapse of RBS; the multibillion-pound bailout (courtesy of you and me), and the smug indifference of the guilty men is one of the parables of the ills of contemporary capitalism. Iain Martin tells it brilliantly, mixing fury-inducing narrative with an acute eye for the broader conclusion. Of all the many tales about the global financial c, I have not read a more compelling one' Observer 'Martin ably decodes financial jargon while sympathising with the public's head shaking incredulity at the size and fragility of the financial system... Fascinating' Breaking Views 'A stonkingly good book... well placed for the Christmas market... many of the cast of characters need little introduction to business people in Scotland, but reading about the wheeling and dealing as if it was a racy novel, is compelling stuff' Jock Business Quarter (Scotland) 'A gripping account of the rise and fall of the Royal Bank of Scotland... Anyone who is interested in politics or finance will enjoy this book. Anyone embarking on a career in banking should be made to read it' Wall Street Journal 'A painstaking analysis of the calamitous collapse of the bank... Required reading for any banker who tends to wake up with brilliant ideas on how to expand the business' --Patrick Hosking, The Times About the Author ---------------- Iain Martin is a journalist and broadcaster. He comes from Paisley (as does Fred Goodwin). Iain was editor of The Scotsman newspaper from 2001-2004, and then its sister paper Scotland on Sunday from 2004-2006. In 2006 he moved to The Sunday Telegraph, where he was deputy editor. He has since been a columnist on politics for various newspapers: The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph, the Wall Street Journal and the Daily Mail. He contributes to Financial News and Standpoint magazine. He has presented editions of Beyond Westminster, Week in Westminster and What the Papers Say for BBC Radio 4. He lives in London.