About this title: Many of us take it as a given that the Great Depression - the consequences of which reverberated for decades, crippling the future of an entire generation and setting the stage for WWII - resulted from a confluence of inexorable forces beyond any one person or government's control. In fact, as erudite economist Liaquat Ahamed explains, it was the decisions taken by a small number of central bankers that were the primary cause of the economic meltdown. "In Lords of Finance", we meet the neurotic and enigmatic Montagu Norman of the Bank of England; the xenophobic and suspicious Emile Moreau of ...
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Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781594201820ISBN:159420182X
Description: Good. Used item may show library stamps, stickers and marks. Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
Date Published: 2009-01-22
ISBN-13:9781594201820ISBN:159420182X
Description: New. Raw, uncopyedited, unformatted softcover paperback manuscript. No images and photos. Paperback. Great Copy. Ships Lightning Fast. read more
Description: Fine. 159420182X THIS IS A HARDCOVER BOOK IN DUST JACKET. THE BOOK AND DUST JACKET ARE IN FINE/FINE CONDITION, LIKE NEW, NO DEFECTS INSIDE OR OUT. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Pr
Date Published: 2009-01-22
ISBN-13:9781594201820ISBN:159420182X
Description: NEW. Hardcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781594201820. read more
Binding: Spoken Word MP3-CD
Publisher: Tantor Media Inc
Date Published: 2009-04-13
ISBN-13:9781400161799ISBN:1400161797
Description: NEW. Spoken Word MP3-CD. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781400161799. read more
"Lords of Finance is an informative and extremely detailed account of the money policies of Britain, France, Germany and the United States from the close of the First World War through 1933- with a brief foray into the years of the Second World War. The subtitle "the Bankers Who Broke the World" refers to the four heads of the central banks but is not particularly relevant as Ahamed fails to fully explain how the bankers broke the world- they certainly did not do so in concert. What is most helpful is Ahamed's clear explanation of the theory of adhering or departing from a gold standard and how each of the nations dealt with that conundrum- especially in light of war reparations and loans.
While Ahamed has much to teach the reader about the intricacies of monetary policy at a time when economic forces were little understood, makes constant asides about the economic policies of John Maynard Keynes who pops up throughout the narrative to tell all what they have done wrong and to say "I told you so." It seems as if Ahamed had a Keynes book in him that he had to get out in this book about four bankers.
There are some surprises that are omitted from Lords of Finance. For instance, we don't hear of the effect of the Flu pandemic and its effect on human capital."
"I have never understood the gold standard. This book helps clarify the concept, but mainly describes the people around the world who were the "governors" of the world economy from the end of World War I until the 1930s and beyond. It is wonderfully researched, and to my unschooled eye the similaities between those times and ours are startling. There is even a collosal fraud. And the book confirms my impression that John Maynard Keynes was a genius. I can't recommend this book too highly."
"The story of international finance between the Wars, told through the stories of the central bankers of the US, Britain, France, and Germany. A bit like the slowest-mo disaster story ever, as the world financial system lurches from one mess to another.
I think I understand a bit more about monetary policy and the gold standard, although I think I might've gotten more out of the book if I'd known more ahead of time.
Full of detail about these 4 guys, plus the entire social and political world they moved in.
Honestly? A bit too much detail, almost to the point of weighing it down, and some of it told with a heavy hand and in caricature. It's a freaking doorstop, and could've been just as good w/out being so huge.
Still, I'm glad I read it, and in these crazy times, it's well worth the time."
"This is a book that everyone should read. Most won't, of course, and 'tis a pity. Lords of Finance will be one of the best finance or history books published this year and quite likely will be one of the best of any book released in 2009.
Admittedly the story of four central bankers in the 1920s and 30s doesn't sound like it would be on anyone's must read list. But Liaquat Ahamed uses the outsize personalities of the bankers of the U.S., Britain, France and Germany to give a human face to the events that led up to the Great Depression. Ahamed deftly limns the personalities with telling details that any literary writer would envy. He's a hedge fund adviser and has worked for the World Bank but his clear, concise prose marks him as a veteran writer.
The book is impressively researched - there's a massive bibliography and Ahamed had access to private journals - yet rarely do we feel that he's trying to cram details just to show the research. Ahamed gives us the context, the psyche of the players and public and demonstrates a firm grasp of wide variety of topics. He also judiciously sprinkles in a few salacious details of the foibles of the wealthy and the aristocratic. Although finance is a common thread, the book is jargon free and dips into monetary theory only explain the consequences of the events.
The last book that I read that combined prodigious research, clear reporting and, most importantly, a desire to be fair is The Assassins' Gate, George Packer's superb 2006 account of the American occupation of Iraq. Lords of Finance is perhaps more impressive because the scope is epic and the timeline is longer. Ahamed admirably organizes the chaos into a coherent narrative.
He examines the events from four sides - showing how each country reacts to the events. He unabashedly criticizes stupidity and doles out praise. And he tries to do it through the lens of the times rather than with the omniscience of hindsight.
Most of us are aware of the troubles of the 1930s but the 1920s were surprisingly turbulent - today's events are a mere tempest in comparison. Most of these events were news to me and I greedily devoured this book to find out what happened next.
It takes a rare talent to take complex events and turn it into a readable tale. This book is a triumph."
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