Nearly 100 million Americans belong to a credit union. Rich in anecdote and interviews with major credit union figures, this book explores in detail how U.S. credit unions developed from small niche players in the economy to mainstream financial institutions during the period 1970-2010. This period posed major economic challenges to credit unions, starting with the Great Inflation of the 1970s and closing with the Great Recession of late 2007-2009. The book explores how they survived and flourished by following their cooperative philosophy of service to members.