The Ascent of Money : A Financial History of the World

by Niall Ferguson

book data

295 ratings, 3.61 average rating, 105 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		15%
4		42%
3		30%
2		9%
1		1%

edit

published

November 13th 2008 by Penguin Press HC, The

binding

Hardcover, 442 pages

isbn

1594201927 (isbn13: 9781594201929)

description

Niall Ferguson follows the money to tell the human story behind the evolution of finance, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheav...more

[close] Niall Ferguson follows the money to tell the human story behind the evolution of finance, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals on what he calls Planet Finance.

Bread, cash, dosh, dough, loot, lucre, moolah, readies, the wherewithal: Call it what you like, it matters. To Christians, love of it is the root of all evil. To generals, its the sinews of war. To revolutionaries, its the chains of labor. But in The Ascent of Money, Niall Ferguson shows that finance is in fact the foundation of human progress. Whats more, he reveals financial history as the essential backstory behind all history.

Through Fergusons expert lens familiar historical landmarks appear in a new and sharper financial focus. Suddenly, the civilization of the Renaissance looks very different: a boom in the market for art and architecture made possible when Italian bankers adopted Arabic mathematics. The rise of the Dutch republic is reinterpreted as the triumph of the worlds first modern bond market over insolvent Habsburg absolutism. And the origins of the French Revolution are traced back to a stock market bubble caused by a convicted Scot murderer.

With the clarity and verve for which he is known, Ferguson elucidates key financial institutions and concepts by showing where they came from. What is money? What do banks do? Whats the difference between a stock and a bond? Why buy insurance or real estate? And what exactly does a hedge fund do?

This is history for the present. Ferguson travels to post-Katrina New Orleans to ask why the free market cant provide adequate protection against catastrophe. He delves into the origins of the subprime mortgage crisis.

Perhaps most important, The Ascent of Money documents how a new financial revolution is propelling the worlds biggest countries, India and China, from poverty to wealth in the space of a single generationan economic transformation unprecedented in human history.

Yet the central lesson of the financial history is that sooner or later every bubble burstssooner or later the bearish sellers outnumber the bullish buyers, sooner or later greed flips into fear. And thats why, whether youre scraping by or rolling in it, theres never been a better time to understand the ascent of money. [close]

find at: Amazon | Half.com | Barnes & Noble | compare prices ($13.64)…

new topic
discuss this book

topics	posts	views	last activity
SciFi and Fantasy...: What I am also reading in December	30	195	01/08/2009 06:31AM

friend reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

lists with this book

Best books of November, 2008

13 books | 16 voters

Books=Gifts

28 books | 6 voters

More lists...

other reviews (showing 1-20 of 937)

sort: default (?) | date
filters: all | text-only

12/02/08

Chris rated it:

Read in December, 2008

Ferguson is known as an economic historian yet his last few books were almost purely historical, with only brief passages on the economic aspects of historical events. Here, Ferguson returns to telling about, well, not so much economics as the evolution of finance. First money, then banks, then bonds, then equities, derivatives, insurance, and finally the causes of the recent credit crunch are explained and developed in simple and clear prose. Unlike 'War of the World' - a mammoth retelling of t...more

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

add a comment

11/30/08

Michael rated it:

Read in January, 2009

recommends it for: those ruined by any sort of market discontinuity

Yay for empire!

Another book from the vaguely centrist right, you know them, those economists and Greek translators and philosophers from the University of Chicago who assisted Pinochet in his fascist coup, won Nobel Prizes, misconstrued Plato to fit their world-view (I'm looking at you, Leo Strauss), and finally, today, when they are primarily involved in teaching a new generation to do the same things.

Well, Ferguson perhaps isn't so vehemently rabid about his political ...more Yay for empire!

Another book from the vaguely centrist right, you know them, those economists and Greek translators and philosophers from the University of Chicago who assisted Pinochet in his fascist coup, won Nobel Prizes, misconstrued Plato to fit their world-view (I'm looking at you, Leo Strauss), and finally, today, when they are primarily involved in teaching a new generation to do the same things.

Well, Ferguson perhaps isn't so vehemently rabid about his political beliefs, and he doesn't teach in Chicago. But he is their counterpart: the British free-trader. Only he has something the Chicago boys don't: that very old and very British urge to colonize those who have defaulted on their debts. We who are not so verse in financial lingo tend to call this imperialism, a much more effective imperialism because so incredibly beneficial to those who have the most to gain.

Ferguson does a very good job of making economic theory as understandable as possible (which means that I understood and could possibly recall about 30% of those unyielding financial terms and theories). It's an excellent day when intelligent historians do not stoop to "our" level to be understood: Ferguson makes his point without relying on that pitfall of historical writing: making history uncomplicated.

And yet, oh, and yet. The closest thing to socially adept you're going to get here is the gold standard, which by any standard (including its own) is a dangerous illusion of stability. And don't even think for a minute that Ferguson will even mention the naughty word "labor" as applied to a working force. He does his best to put a pretty, imperial British mask over his rough, working-class Scottish face, but for all his talk of bubbles and busts and liquidity and illiquidity and real estate and S & L, you have to wonder: is it possible that something so vacuous as a number on a screen can define us, politically, culturally, and spiritually? It's kind of a scary predicament, and _The Ascent of Money_ not only sets out to prove that this is true, it also aspires to show that "Planet Finance" is an evolutionary process, almost as evolutionary as evolution itself, with a little more ideology thrown in. The last chapter "Chimerica" is one reason to read the book (or at least that chapter) as it portrays a clear-sighted analysis of the US-China situation, which is becoming more intricate and dangerous each day.

It is a minor but slightly important book, more about finance than financial history. Then again, maybe finance is financial history.

I think it's time for some Naomi Klein.

(less)

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

7 comments

10/18/08

Roger Cottrell added it

I was recently referred to this book by Goodreads friend Roz, who didn't know that I'd already read it. For those who don't know Ferguson he's a prolific but right wing historian who is a regular face on British TV's channel 4 with series like EMPIRE, AMERICAN COLLOSUS and THE THIRD WORLD WAR. I don't agree with Ferguson's project, particularly his defence of Thatcher, but his histories pose important questions even though they lack a central Marxist focus on class. Ergo, attempts by many Lef...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

3 comments

03/26/09

karl rated it:

Read in March, 2009

recommends it for: Econ faculty to add to their syllabus as recommended reading

Solid research (lots of footnotes), almost too much detailed stats at some points, and excellent writing (e.g., short sentences) are the strength of this book. It reads similar to a somewhat disparate collage of econ/finance/policy articles from the Economist, or the New Yorker, or Times. That takes a star off for me. There might be a lot of attention to Long Term Capital, Hurricane Katrina, professor DeSoto's work in Peru and South America, British landowners in the 1800's, and the poor in Detr...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

01/05/09

Brian rated it:

Read in January, 2009

While informative about some things -- I never did know what the bond market was and its relationship to interest rates, the author tries far too hard to put a good face on capitalism.

In one example he mentions an isolated tribe that comes into contact with modern man and who are thrilled to be living now on state handouts rather than being hunter gatherers -- see how much better it is live with money than not? Given that a only a few pages before the author details the terrible horr...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

12/25/08

Miguel rated it:

Read in December, 2008

Engaging book, although it does not add much to the TV documentary, which is available through the PBS website and also on YouTube. However, I was sufficiently impressed by the book and a couple of his essays in Vanity Fair that I plan to read more of Ferguson's work. I ordered the "Cash Nexus" and, maybe, if I have a long illness, I'll also read his book on the Rothschilds. A brilliant man, though perhaps a trifle self-aggrandizing. He claims, for instance, to have predicted the housi...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

12/12/08

Tao rated it:

Read in June, 2009

This is a very readable and enjoyable financial history for a layman like me. Like most of the members of the general public, generally I have no interest in financial history, considering it complicated, mundane, boring and dry. However, the recently financial meltdown piqued my interest on this topic.

This book described the development of modern finance and banking system, staring from Renaissance Italy, the Medici family, the rising of the Rothschild family after the Waterloo, al...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

01/10/09

Andrew rated it:

bookshelves: business, history

Read in January, 2009

The is a very interesting take on the role of money in world history. Ferguson tracks the evolution of the financial world right up to the present economic crisis. He writes very well and weaves in how other historic events were triggered or enabled by changes in how money works. Even if one challenges some of the opinions in the book, it is very thought provoking.

Given everything that is going on around us these days, this is an excellent read. Highly recommended.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

02/05/09

Bookmarks Magazine rated it:

Niall Ferguson makes a strong, compelling case for the development of money and banking as a catalyst for the advancement of civilization. Yet while some critics praised his clear, comprehensible writing, punctuated with anecdotes and historical details, others were nonplussed by his explanations and narrative detours. Several critics also bemoaned the book's choppy and uneven structure��an echo of the episodic, six-part television series it was meant to accompany. So it seems the UK critics li

...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

02/01/09

Deirdre rated it:

Read in January, 2009

Money's money, right? Wrong. My sister told me that "Life is like a sh*t sandwich, the more bread you have the less sh*t you eat." (True unless you're Sunny Von Bulow.)

Niall Ferguson focuses his history of the world on its finances. He succeeds in explaining the origins, evolution, and present state of currency, bonds, stocks, insurance, property, and financial wizardry. There's plenty I still don't know, but looking at the world through the prism of money usually explains...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

04/14/09

Al rated it:

Read in April, 2009

Niall Ferguson is a great historian-- his The Pity of War is about the best history of WW I extant --and so I was interested to see what he could do with the history of money. The answer is inconclusive. The book is actually a history of finance, particularly toward the end (i.e., modern times). It is surprisingly anecdotal, which does have the benefit of making it interesting. Ferguson's insights into certain historical events, and their consequences, are as usual very illuminating. I...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

04/14/09

getAbstract rated it:

Read in April, 2009

Surprisingly readable history of money

Niall Ferguson offers a comprehensive collection of anecdotes and observations about the development of finance. He begins with a brief discussion of pre-money societies. Then, he carries you through the birth of banking in Renaissance Italy, the 18th-century Mississippi and South Sea bubbles, the role of Nathan Mayer Rothschild in the Napoleonic Wars, and the 20th-century transition from the Bretton Woods model to free-market derivatives and cur...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

06/03/09

Beatles24 rated it:

Read in June, 2009

This is one of those rare books that you read not just once but you (a) have to own a copy of it, (b) have to buy a copy and necessarily gift to everyone that you know and their sister in law, (c) and upon reading it, simply feel utterly stupid that there are so many things about the financial world - so completely basic - that one ought to have known but one just doesn't.

Niall Ferguson brings an innate sense of timing, weaves storylines like they are part of a film noir thriller, ...more This is one of those rare books that you read not just once but you (a) have to own a copy of it, (b) have to buy a copy and necessarily gift to everyone that you know and their sister in law, (c) and upon reading it, simply feel utterly stupid that there are so many things about the financial world - so completely basic - that one ought to have known but one just doesn't.

Niall Ferguson brings an innate sense of timing, weaves storylines like they are part of a film noir thriller, and quotes some of the most intriguing facts to showcase a rich tapestry of the financial world from times past to the rich complexity that we see today (not to mention the aggressive shambles that much of today's world is in as we speak). While it is a historian's mission to run through a longitudinal story of any event or phenomenon it is the rare one that does it with a sensibility that forges fact, lore, creativity, and entertainment into a seamless progression towards a big picture perspective. For example, who knew that the French revolution was caused not by political hand wringing among infighting legions rather than a louche Englishmen [aren't they all? :-) ] who was convicted of murder and then decided to emigrate to France to trade in bonds and engage in other speculative enterprises. And where else is there, in one place, a succinct account of the raison d'etre of some of our current financial institutions (Fannie, Freddie, Ginnie etc.) and how they have contributed to the current crisis by recklessly engaging in the market for secondary mortgage markets?

If there is one concern in this book it is that this historical compendium of financial events seems to be focused on specific individuals and the institutions at large per se. Nowhere (or at the most in a few pages) is there a searing indictment of what we, as a public, have done to orchestrate and inflict these greivous injuries on ourselves. Where is there a need to blame companies like Enron solely when the average investor ought to know better and not put all their 401k holdings in one stock - especially the one they work in? While this is a minor flaw and not one that is likely to detract from the overall mission of the book to educate it is about time that someone as high profile as Ferguson calls it out in his writings. After all, the history of financial collapses (and to be fair, soaring achievements) could only have been possible with the appalling (and other times thoughtful) complicity of the public which had a hand based on a perverted sense of short term self interest.

All in all, this is one of those books that, for me at least, took at least two times to read to grasp the enormity of our financial history. It is also a bit west-centric in that there is not much mention, in proportion, of the contribution of the Eastern civilizations to how money and investments were viewed. While it is commendable enough to read it and enjoy it once, we would be doing a lot more justice by buying a reference copy and perusing it time and time again in an effort to understand our place in history as well as using it as a primer to underscore how our own actions and deeds contribute to or detract from a robust financial system.(less)

Like this review? yes

add a comment

05/10/09

Earle Whittier, is currently reading it

bookshelves: currently-reading

I'm a Niall Ferguson fan, having previously read several of his books; and I believe his works should be "required reading" for those who hope to occupy congressional seats. Alexis De Toqueville's "Democracy In America" is another work that should be mandatory reading (accompanied by a written test} by congressional candidates and their staff members before they are permitted to weigh in on any legislation. Most of our economic problems can be traced directly to our Ivy Leagu...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

04/19/09

Whitaker rated it:

bookshelves: history

Read in April, 2009

An accessible primer on the history of the rise of financial markets and how they have come to take centre stage in the world economy.

Ferguson largely avoids deadening dryness--no mean feat given the subject-matter--and does a good job of popularising the subject. Novices seeking to understand how we got to where we are now will find his book a relatively unthreatening place to start. There is much that is enlightening here, in particular, his final chapters on structure of the worl...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

05/31/09

Andrew rated it:

Read in May, 2009

The book is a history lesson on where money came from and how it is shaping our present today. It reminds us that money is an institution based on trust and a whole lot of evolution through numerous boom and bust cycles intertwined with political and social cues. Ferguson pays homage to the history of money making seemingly arguing that finance has developed to new and exciting levels of sophistication while giving room to miscues in securitization of things like mortgages in the present.
...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

06/09/09

Joel rated it:

Fast and enjoyable look at the history of financial institutions. Although Ferguson bemoans the lack of financial literacy in the population at large this work won't be the one to change that. The explanations of the actual financial instruments involved are too superficial and might only make sense to those with some background in the subject. What makes this worth reading is the history. Ferguson's explanations of John Law's machinations in the court of Louis XV and the Church of Scotland'...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

03/05/09

Ty rated it:

Read in April, 2009

my first Kindle book...good book so far and fun to read on the toy... :)

and my first book finished on the Kindle...

the book itself is fantastic! easily the most readable and enjoyable book i have ever read in the field of finance. the author is humorous and clear when he covers very complex topics like options, derivatives and other modern financial instruments. the book starts with the origins of money in ancient Persia and goes all the way through the problems that w...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

03/02/09

zingarina rated it:

Read in January, 2008

This is a swashbuckling tale of... economics! Its a book of adventure and international historical intrigue that kept me reading into the night. I'm serious... and I'm an artist, not a business woman. Ferguson did an excellent job of intertwining our current economic crisis with the financial histories he chose to include in his book. It made his subject more relevant, and unfortunately, more perilous.

As a non-business person I learned so much about financial history and contempor...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

06/16/09

Wayne rated it:

Read in June, 2009

The book described the development of the financial systems from the time of gold and silver coins to today's central bank system. The book was finished around the time of the start of the current financial crisis in mid-2007 so it just touches on the start of the problems. It was interesting but pretty basic. Not much in the book you couldn't pick up by being an astute reader of the financial section of the newspaper. Overall, it was a good summary and would be helpful for someone without a fin...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment