As inflation became less prominent in the 1990s the stature of the US dollar rose replacing the traditional role of gold as a historical store of value. The collapse of the Cold War and the new geo-political realities of the new decade of the 1990s, elevated the dollar as the sole reserve currency and an unparalleled choice among investors during times of financial and economic crisis. While Europe began to mount a serious challenge to the global status of the dollar through the launch of the "Euro" it was the relationship with the Japanese yen that brought more questions than answers throughout the decade. This book presents a concise "living history" of the economic and financial life of the United States of America during one of the most revolutionary decades in modem memory (1990-2000).