Publications
Publications
- 2008
The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World
By: Niall Ferguson
Abstract
Niall Ferguson traces the historical evolution of the financial system, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals on what he calls "Planet Finance." In doing so, he reveals financial history as the essential backstory behind all history, from the civilization of the Renaissance to the origins of the French Revolution. Ferguson elucidates key financial institutions and concepts by showing where they came from. What is money? What do banks do? What's the difference between a stock and a bond? Why buy insurance or real estate? And how exactly do hedge funds make (and lose) money? This is history for the present, providing an invaluable long-term perspective on the current global "descent of money.”
Keywords
Citation
Ferguson, Niall. The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World. New York: Penguin Press, 2008.