But as he makes abundantly clear in his landmark book, The Creature From Jekyll Island, now in its fifth edition, the case against the Fed is overwhelming.

Creature, as Griffin explains, is four books in one: a crash-course in money and banking; a history of central banking in America; a discussion of the Fed itself and its role in American and world affairs; and finally, a detailed look at how the Fed and other central banks become "catalysts for war."

Without central banking, much of the carnage of the past 108 years would not have been possible.

In November 1910 seven men representing roughly one-fourth of the world's wealth took a clandestine train ride from New Jersey to a resort on Jekyll Island, Georgia, ostensibly to hunt ducks.  But instead of shooting birds they drew up plans for a state-privileged cartel, which served as the blueprint for the Federal Reserve Act of 1913.

For years, most people left the Jekyll Island tale for the fringe that loves conspiracy theories.  But gradually the story leaked out, beginning with an article by Bertie Charles Forbes, the future founder of Forbes Magazine, in Leslie's Weekly in 1916 (excerpted here).  Following discussions with Paul Warburg, the Fed's chief architect and one of the Jekyll attendees, Forbes confirmed the trip in his opening paragraphs.  Later writers, including some of those in attendance at Jekyll Island, corroborated Forbes' story.  The secret trip of 1910, long considered the delusions of conspiracy theorists, was openly celebrated in 2010 by Bernanke & company.