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4th out of 7 books
—
1 voter
Millionaire: The Philanderer, Gambler, and Duelist Who Invented Modern Finance
In the wake of Louis XIV's death, France's government teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. Enter the reformer in the unlikely guise of John Law—a supremely charming and attractive Scot whose brilliant financial mind had thus far served only to make himself rich at the gaming tables.
In one of the great image makeovers of all time, John Law recharged a devastated French econ...more
In one of the great image makeovers of all time, John Law recharged a devastated French econ...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
July 10th 2001
by Simon & Schuster
(first published 1999)
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Mar 04, 2011
Thirteenth Peer
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
auto-biography
This was a decent read but not the most exciting book.
The general view Gleeson takes of Law is quite positive. This seems to have been a result of gradually changing opinion of Law in various studies of his life over the time from when he lived to now. As far as I understand it, not having read any other sources except wikipedia, Law was basically seen as a villian, clever but thoroughly dishonest, for some time after his life. Then gradually the biographies and studies began to take a more posi...more
The general view Gleeson takes of Law is quite positive. This seems to have been a result of gradually changing opinion of Law in various studies of his life over the time from when he lived to now. As far as I understand it, not having read any other sources except wikipedia, Law was basically seen as a villian, clever but thoroughly dishonest, for some time after his life. Then gradually the biographies and studies began to take a more posi...more
This book is all there is to know about John Law, a Scotsman who came to rule French finances for a brief period under the regency during Louis XV’s minority. And boy did he fuck it up. He takes France through a great financial boom (the first, the author asserts but this can’t be true) and then the rapidly following spectacular, and for Law, fatal, bust.
The author leaves detailed explanations aside and sticks with the historical record and some sweeping assertions. There’s quite a bit about La...more
The author leaves detailed explanations aside and sticks with the historical record and some sweeping assertions. There’s quite a bit about La...more
An informative, well written and well researched story of a grand con artist. This chap persuades the French government to allow him to set up a national bank, and he proceeds to swindle everyone else while enriching himself. This is against a background of extreme poverty by the majority of the French population. An insight into the inherent indifference the banking and financial system have towards people. 2008 et al.
It is interesting. But it's not really engaging. And I felt that the details overwhelmed the main thread of the story. To be honest, it read like a publish PhD.
Excellent book full of fact's I had not come across presented as an entertaining & compelling tale. History pertaining to finance is rarely so entertaining.
There's too much 'Law would have seen...' and 'Katherine Law would have felt...' in this for my liking. I prefer to do the imagination myself.
Aug 27, 2012
Mai k
marked it as for-sale
Amazing story in there, just poorly told by Gleeson.
I suspect that this story loses something if the raeder does not have a grasp on banking and trading. Absent the time frame, one could deduce that nothing has changed. Financial systems still collapse and maverick financiers can still rock governments. One of the author's observations rings true today, and that is:
....people's desire to make as much money for as little effort as possible,their instinct to follow the heard, to hoard when threatened, to panic if confidence is shaken....more
....people's desire to make as much money for as little effort as possible,their instinct to follow the heard, to hoard when threatened, to panic if confidence is shaken....more
Apr 07, 2007
Alex K.
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Those interested in the study of economics.
Shelves:
finished
Millionaire is a historical sketch on an individual who pretty much swindled his life away; but still managed to stay in high ranking society. It is a very fun read, and it does not manage to dive to deep into the actual economics behind what the individual featured founded. (Some charts or equations would of been very useful.) Worth a read if you want to look at economics and get a specific look at one obscure individual out of the trillions of history.
This book was much more enjoyable than I thought it would be. It covered some very complex topics (finance, politics, etc) with interesting prose, and with the feel of an actual story. It managed to stay away from being dry or boring, and yet is very well researched, true to the facts, and does a good job of staying away from supposition or falsehood.
France in 1700's tries an experiment under the direction of John Law (a Scotsman) with paper money backed by deposited coins (but not completely)...and it all falls apart due to over inflated stock prices and frenzy over making scads of money easily....it sounds like just yesterday.
A fascinating and eloquently told true story of John Law, a naive Scottish murderer-gambler and economic genius who virtually invented modern money in 18th Century France. First millionaires, financial bubble and hectic stock trading debauchery.
An interesting story of the historical beginnings of international finance. Found this at a really interesting libertarian bookstore in Riverside, CA which has a wide variety of interesting books on history and current events.
Great reading the daily train commute I was taking at the time; eighteenth century history is not for everyone, but I found this book fascinating- a glimpse into the world of speculation.
Really entertaining look at a normally dry (and pretty boring for most) subject - the story of the origin of paper money and idea of the modern stock exchange. The guy was crazy!
لوعة جبد هالقصة، كملت شهرين وانا أحاول اخلصهااا
أنصحكم لا تقرونهاا ><
أنصحكم لا تقرونهاا ><
Very insightful. It is amazing to see that people have always been acting like sheep!
Not bad, but nothing special either. Thankfully a cheapie purchase.
read SOMETHNIG about John Law ... one of the great adventures of human history. This full-sized book doesn't add much to the hundreds of things you can find on the internet for free.
May 15, 2013
Brendon
marked it as to-read
May 15, 2013
Jeff
marked it as to-read
May 07, 2013
Shaun Larocque
is currently reading it
May 06, 2013
Nathalie Debonville
is currently reading it
May 04, 2013
Daniel
marked it as to-read
May 01, 2013
Bluecat
marked it as calibre
May 19, 2013
Pavan
added it
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