The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World - Hardcover

Ferguson, Niall

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1846141060 ISBN 13: 9781846141065

Publisher: Allen Lane, 2008

Synopsis

Bread, cash, dosh, dough, loot: Call it what you like, it matters. To Christians, love of it is the root of all evil. To generals, it's the sinews of war. To revolutionaries, it's the chains of labour. But in The Ascent of Money, Niall Ferguson shows that finance is in fact the foundation of human progress. What's more, he reveals financial history as the essential back-story behind all history.

The evolution of credit and debt was as important as any technological innovation in the rise of civilization, from ancient Babylon to the silver mines of Bolivia. Banks provided the material basis for the splendours of the Italian Renaissance, while the bond market was the decisive factor in conflicts from the Seven Years' War to the American Civil War.

With the clarity and verve for which he is famed, Niall Ferguson explains why the origins of the French Revolution lie in a stock market bubble caused by a convicted Scots murderer. He shows how financial failure turned Argentina from the world's sixth richest country into an inflation-ridden basket case - and how a financial revolution is propelling the world's most populous country from poverty to power in a single generation.

Yet the most important lesson of the financial history is that sooner or later every bubble bursts - sooner or later the bearish sellers outnumber the bullish buyers - sooner or later greed flips into fear. And that's why, whether you're scraping by or rolling in it, there's never been a better time to understand the ascent of money.

About this title

Product Description:

Rare book

Review:

'Every page has the Ferguson hallmarks of trenchant argument, telling detail and lucid explanation ... Ferguson's analysis is more illuminating than all the dozens of newspaper articles I have read on the subject.' -- Standpoint

'Ferguson's powers are on formidable display ... Alone among modern economic historians, he is able to present complex data in a consistently revelatory manner.' -- Observer

'Ferguson's reputation is so high that if he were a stock one would short him ... his book is very readable indeed' -- James Buchan, Guardian

'From clay tables to loan securitisation, this fine history reveals trust as central to the power of finance ... told with verve and insight ... [Niall Ferguson] is a fine analyst of the financial vertebrae that make up the backbone of human history' -- Daily Telegraph

'Highly readable stuff ... extraordinarily timely' -- Spectator

'Professor Ferguson is not only one of the world's leading historians. He has written a number of books on financial themes and tackles his complex subject with great clarity and wit.'
-- Independent

`Niall Ferguson has written a fascinating, accessible, and important book that lives up to its rather grandiose title ... It goes from cowrie shells to mortgage-backed securities, and everything in between ... this is an exceptional book.' -- Michael Casey, Irish Times

About this edition

• Publisher: Allen Lane
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1846141060
• ISBN 13: 9781846141065
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 464