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 become Governor of the Federal Reserve Board and the President and CEO of VISA U.S.A. After graduating from the now-defunct Parsons College and earning a doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley during the tumultuous Sixties, he sets out on a career as a college professor at UCLA. After that, he occupies leadership positions at the International Monetary Fund and Bank of America while the international financial system undergoes unprecedented change and turmoil. 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.