“Erudite, entertaining macroeconomic history of the lead-up to the Great Depression as seen through the careers of the West’s principal bankers . . . Spellbinding, insightful and, perhaps most important, timely.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“There is terrific prescience to be found in [Lords of Finance’s] portrait of times past . . . [A] writer of great verve and erudition, [Ahamed] easily connects the dots between the economic crises that rocked the world during the years his book covers and the fiscal emergencies that beset us today." —The New York Times
It is commonly believed that the Great Depression that began in 1929 resulted from a confluence of events beyond any one person's or government's control. In fact, as Liaquat Ahamed reveals, it was the decisions made by a small number of central bankers that were the primary cause of that economic meltdown, the effects of which set the stage for World War II and reverberated for decades. As we continue to grapple with economic turmoil, Lords of Finance is a potent reminder of the enormous impact that the decisions of central bankers can have, their fallibility, and the terrible human consequences that can result when they are wrong.
Liaquat Ahamed has been a professional investment manager for 25 years. He has worked at the World Bank in Washington D.C. and the New York based partnership of Fischer Francis Trees and Watts, where he served as Chief Executive. He is currently an adviser to several hedge fund groups, including the Rock Creek Group and the Rohatyn Group, is a director of Aspen Insurance Co. and is on the board of Trustees of the Brookings Institution. He has degrees in economics from Harvard and Cambridge Universities.
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Part 1 The Unexpected Storm August 1914
1 Prologue 19
2 A Strange and Lonely Man 23
3 The Young Wizard 35
4 A Safe Pair of Hands 45
5 L'Inspecteur Des Finances 61
6 Money Generals 73
Part 2 After The Deluge 1919-23
7 Demented Inspirations 99
8 Uncle Shylock 130
9 A Barbarous Relic 155
Part 3 Sowing A New Wind 1923-28
10 A Bridge between Chaos and Hope 179
11 The Dawes Opening 193
12 The Golden Chancellor 217
13 La Bataille 241
14 The First Squalls 270
15 Un Petit Coup De Whisky 291
Part 4 Reaping Another Whirlwind 1928-33
16 Into the Vortex 107
17 Purging the Rottenness 347
18 Magneto Trouble 374
19 A Loose Cannon on The Deck of The World 393
20 Gold Fetters 422
Part 5 Aftermath 1933-44
21 Gold Standard on the Booze 451
22 The Caravans Move on 477
23 Epilogue 497
Acknowledgments 506
Notes 509
Bibliography 533
Index 545
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From the Publisher
"Ahamed...easily connects the dots between the economic crises that rocked the world during the years his book covers and the fiscal emergencies that beset us today." -The New York Times