"A magisterial work...You can't help thinking about the economic crisis we're living through now." --The New York Times Book Review
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 yet another period of economic turmoil makes headlines today, 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.
Lords of Finance
Introduction
Part One: The Unexpected Storm
August 1914
1. Prologue
2. A Strange and Lonely Man
3. The Young Wizard
4. A Safe Pair of Hands
5. L'Inspecteur des Finances
6. Money Generals
Part Two: After The Deluge
1919-23
7. Demented Inspirations
8. Uncle Shylock
9. A Barbarous Relic
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Part Three: Sowing A New Wind
1923-28
10. A Bridge Between Chaos and Hope
11. The Dawes Opening
12. The Golden Chancellor
13. La Bataille
14. The First Squalls
15. Un Petit Coup de Whisky
Part Four: Reaping Another Whirlwind
1928-33
16. Into the Vortex
17. Purging the Rottenness
18. Magneto Trouble
19. A Loose Cannon on the Deck of the World
20. Gold Fetters
Part Five: Aftermath
1933-44
21. Gold Standard on the Booze
22. The Caravans Move on
23. Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
