Lords of finance : [1929, the great depression, and the bankers who broke the world

Review "Highly readable... [Ahamed] cannot have foreseen how timely his book would be." — Niall Ferguson "A great read." — George Soros From the Hardcover edition. Product Description With a keen sense of history and compelling narrative skills, Liaquat Ahamed gives us a vivid and dramatic account of four men whose actions led to the world economic collapse of the late 1920s. Many of us presume that the Great Depression resulted from a confluence of inexorable forces beyond any one person's or government's control. In fact, as economist Liaquat Ahamed explains, it was decisions taken by a small number of central bankers that were the primary cause of the economic meltdown. Meet the neurotic and enigmatic Montagu Norman of the Bank of England; the xenophobic and suspicious Emile Moreau of the Banque de France; the arrogant yet brilliant Hjalmar Schacht of the Reichsbank; and the dynamic Benjamin Strong of the New York Federal Reserve Bank. These men were as prominent then as Alan Greenspan and Hank Paulson are in our time. Lords of Finance brings a fresh perspective on the origins of financial crises and an arresting reminder that its individuals who lie at the heart of global catastrophe. From the Hardcover edition. 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. La quatrième de couverture indique : "The current economic crisis has only one parallel : the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and subsequent Great Depression of the 1930's, which crippled the future of an entire generation and set the stage for the horrors of the Second World War. Yet this financial 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. Their names were lost to history, their lives and actions forgotten, until now. 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." Offering an understanding of the global nature of financial crises, this title is a potent reminder of the enormous impact that the decisions of central bankers can have, of their fallibility, and of the terrible human consequences that can result when they are wrong