The Ascent of Money (book review is reposted from previous blog)
Author
Niall Ferguson
Niall Ferguson
Date of Publication
November, 2008
Reason for reading
I felt I needed a better understanding of finance, and this appeared to be a logical starting point.Synopsis
The book has just six chapters, with each focusing on the origin of different areas of finance - money & credit, bond markets, stock markets, insurance, housing, and international finance.
The book has just six chapters, with each focusing on the origin of different areas of finance - money & credit, bond markets, stock markets, insurance, housing, and international finance.
Review
In the introduction to the book, he cites a few studies that reveal the ignorance of people in regards to money, whether it's the difference between 401(k) and social security or how compound interest works, so the goal is to give people the origin of these things in order that they may be better able to grasp the concepts and terminology in place today.
It doesn't have the most in-depth history of any individual topic, but each of those I'm sure could cover books (or volumes) themselves. A couple things he could have done a little more on are wages/salaries and taxes (the latter especially), but he may have left those out specifically because people are at least a bit knowledgeable about those already.
For his stated objective, I'd give the book an 8 on a 10-point scale.
Quotes (italics are mine)
"Politicians, central bankers and businessmen regularly lament the extent of public ignorance about money, and with good reason."In the introduction to the book, he cites a few studies that reveal the ignorance of people in regards to money, whether it's the difference between 401(k) and social security or how compound interest works, so the goal is to give people the origin of these things in order that they may be better able to grasp the concepts and terminology in place today.
It doesn't have the most in-depth history of any individual topic, but each of those I'm sure could cover books (or volumes) themselves. A couple things he could have done a little more on are wages/salaries and taxes (the latter especially), but he may have left those out specifically because people are at least a bit knowledgeable about those already.
For his stated objective, I'd give the book an 8 on a 10-point scale.
Quotes (italics are mine)
page 12
-This quote caught my eye looking for a summary of the chapters since I have my doubts about some politicians' knowledge of money.
"The Rothschilds had decided the outcome of the Napoleonic Wars by putting their financial weight behind Britain. Now they would help decide the outcome of the American Civil War - by choosing to sit on the sidelines."
page 91
-This one is more notable to summarize a large section dealing with the Rothschild dynasty, which I had never heard of before this, and to learn what power they had is staggering.
Further reading:
(these aren't books I've read, rather ones I've come across that I think need to be read and I intend to soon)
The House of Rothschild: Volume 1: Money's Prophets: 1798-1848
Niall Ferguson
November, 1999
The House of Rothschild: Volume 2: The World's Banker: 1848-1999
Niall Ferguson
September, 2000
The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money
John Maynard Keynes
1953
Capitalism and Freedom
Milton Friedman1962
Posts
This is pretty good, but could you go into more detail in the synopsis.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm trying to read Keynes right now and it's very difficult. He's a terrible writer/communicator. But I'll write this review once I'm done. At some point we're going to have to discuss Friedman vs Keynes. I am having a hard time figuring out where they differ and where they agree.
ReplyDeleteAnd I've read Free to Choose and reviewed it on facebook.
As an update on this, The Ascent of Money was also made into a documentary with Niall Ferguson as the host, I think for PBS. It's available for free here:
ReplyDeletehttp://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-ascent-of-money/