Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan denied that he was somehow responsible for what he called a "once-in-a-century credit tsunami" to lawmakers today in Washington, D.C., claiming, "Those of us who looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders' equity (myself especially) are in a state of shocked disbelief," as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

Should we be surprised at his surprise? Consider "The Hollow Man," Elizabeth Spiers's essay on Greenspan's ultimate contribution to the economy, published in our September 2007 issue, which takes on the man, the myth, and the mythmakers who made him so.