The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World: 10th Anniversary Edition
The 10th anniversary edition, with new chapters on the crash, Chimerica, and cryptocurrency
"[An] excellent, just in time guide to the history of finance and financial crisis." —The Washington Post
"Fascinating." —Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek
In this updated edition, Niall Ferguson brings his classic financial history of the world up to the present day, tackling the populist backlash that followed the 2008 crisis, the descent of "Chimerica" into a trade war, and the advent of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, with his signature clarity and expert lens.
The Ascent of Money reveals finance as the backbone of history, casting a new light on familiar events: the Renaissance enabled by Italian foreign exchange dealers, the French Revolution traced back to a stock market bubble, the 2008 crisis traced from America's bankruptcy capital, Memphis, to China's boomtown, Chongqing. We may resent the plutocrats of Wall Street but, as Ferguson argues, the evolution of finance has rivaled the importance of any technological innovation in the rise of civilization. Indeed, to study the ascent and descent of money is to study the rise and fall of Western power itself.
"[An] excellent, just in time guide to the history of finance and financial crisis." —The Washington Post
"Fascinating." —Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek
In this updated edition, Niall Ferguson brings his classic financial history of the world up to the present day, tackling the populist backlash that followed the 2008 crisis, the descent of "Chimerica" into a trade war, and the advent of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, with his signature clarity and expert lens.
The Ascent of Money reveals finance as the backbone of history, casting a new light on familiar events: the Renaissance enabled by Italian foreign exchange dealers, the French Revolution traced back to a stock market bubble, the 2008 crisis traced from America's bankruptcy capital, Memphis, to China's boomtown, Chongqing. We may resent the plutocrats of Wall Street but, as Ferguson argues, the evolution of finance has rivaled the importance of any technological innovation in the rise of civilization. Indeed, to study the ascent and descent of money is to study the rise and fall of Western power itself.
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Community Reviews
An enjoyable read
This a good complement to Capital in the Twenty First Century by Thomas Picketty. It is lighter in voice and darker in theme. This book focuses on stories and characters from history and how the financial systems have influenced and been influenced by them. But if you must pick one of these two and have the time (CiTFC is ~600 pages), I'd pick CiFTC for it's academic and historical richness.
This a good complement to Capital in the Twenty First Century by Thomas Picketty. It is lighter in voice and darker in theme. This book focuses on stories and characters from history and how the financial systems have influenced and been influenced by them. But if you must pick one of these two and have the time (CiTFC is ~600 pages), I'd pick CiFTC for it's academic and historical richness.
Fergeson tried to present a history of currency and monetary policy but he got mired in the history of it, and it seemed to lose focus. Some sort of point or thesis would have given this shape. He ended up tackling a lot of topics and I learned a few things here and there but not as much as if he'd given some direction to his sometimes conservative and sometimes liberal points.
Also, because he was focusing on the "history" aspect of his book it was organized at first in a chronological order by category of "innovation" but then the chronology fell apart with Chapter 6. This was just a little disorientating in an already thesisless tome.
Update: I read the afterword and the entire thesis is in there- and it's not a good a thesis. The thesis is that financial developments are like evolution. Even if this were true, which this book has not convinced me of at all, why would it matter?
Also, because he was focusing on the "history" aspect of his book it was organized at first in a chronological order by category of "innovation" but then the chronology fell apart with Chapter 6. This was just a little disorientating in an already thesisless tome.
Update: I read the afterword and the entire thesis is in there- and it's not a good a thesis. The thesis is that financial developments are like evolution. Even if this were true, which this book has not convinced me of at all, why would it matter?
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