Lords of Finance

This has happened before. The current financial crisis has only one parallel: the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and subsequent Great Depression of the 1930s, which crippled the future of an entire generation and set the stage for the horrors of the Second World War. Yet the economic meltdown could have been avoided, had it not been for the decisions taken by a small number of central bankers. In "Lords of Finance", we meet these men, the four bankers who truly broke the world: the enigmatic Norman Montagu of the bank of England, Benjamin Strong of the NY Federal Reserve, the arrogant yet brilliant Hjalmar Schacht of the Reichsbanlk and the xenophobic Emile Moreau of the Banque de France. Their names were lost to history, their lives and actions forgotten, until now. Liaquat Ahamed tells their story in vivid and gripping detail, in a timely and arresting reminder that individuals - their ambitions, limitations and human nature - lie at the very heart of global catastrophe.

ISBN 009949308X   Pages 576 ISBN13 9780099493082 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 460 Publisher Cornerstone   Published in London Imprint Windmill Books   Height (mm) 199 Format Paperback   Width (mm) 129 Publication date 16 May 2009   Spine width (mm) 37 DEWEY 338.542   Academic level General DEWEY edition DC22   Alternative ISBN 9781615458196

'Fascinating... Anyone who wants to understand the origins of the economic world we live in would do well to read this book...brisk, original, incisive and entertaining. Michael Beschloss One of those rare books - authoritative, readable and relevant - that puts the "story" back into history... a spellbinding, richly human [and] cinematic narrative. Strobe Talbott Absorbing [and] provocative, not least because it is still relevant. The Economist NIALL FERGUSON: 'Highly readable... [Ahamed] cannot have foreseen how timely his book would be. FT 'Superlative... a subject of real fascination... Lords of Finance has the flair and wisdom to find a wide readership on the strength of its main ideas.' New York Times ROBERT PESTON: 'Compelling and convincing...humanises the world's descent into economic chaos.' Sunday Times ... a brilliant and timely book... Today's policy makers have learned from these dreadful mistakes, but they still have more to do to restore economic stability and bring down unemployment. They need to read this book. Guardian A salutary warning from the past about the unexpected consequences of policy mistakes at the highest level. Historical but topical Financial Times brilliantly readable observer

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