The Ascent of Money

A Financial History of the World

By: Niall Ferguson

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Niall Ferguson follows the money to tell the human story behind the evolution of finance, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals on what he calls Planet Finance.

Bread, cash, dosh, dough, loot, lucre, moolah, readies, the wherewithal: Call it what you like, it matters. To Christians, love of it is the root of all evil. To generals, it's the sinews of war. To revolutionaries, it's the chains of labor. But in The Ascent of Money, Niall Ferguson shows that finance is in fact the foundation of human progress. What's more, he reveals financial history as the essential back story behind all history.

Through Ferguson's expert lens familiar historical landmarks appear in a new and sharper financial focus. Suddenly, the civilization of the Renaissance looks very different: a boom in the market for art and architecture made possible when Italian bankers adopted Arabic mathematics. The rise of the Dutch republic is reinterpreted as the triumph of the world's first modern bond market over insolvent Habsburg absolutism. And the origins of the French Revolution are traced back to a stock market bubble caused by a convicted Scot murderer.

©2008 Niall Ferguson (P)2008 Tantor

An Essential read for our times!

This book is a must read. Understanding the rise of money is like understanding the effects of money in relation to human behavior. The creation evolved from simple pieces of marked clay to hedge funds. Political relationship to money would be a great addition. Regardless this is a great book.

The history of money made interesting

I enjoyed listening to this book very much! It was an excellent breakdown of the various economic stages the world has gone through. I would listen to it again.

Great Job of conveying some complicated concepts

What did you love best about The Ascent of Money?

The author did a great job in using stories to tell the story of the history of the financial system and the history of economics. Really well written. I enjoyed it.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This is probably not a book that you will want to listen to in one sitting, however, it is a book that you will want to listen to again. There is so much material -- covering numerous economic concepts and such a broad swath of history it is impossible to catch it all the first time through. However, it is also one of those you probably will not want to re-listen too right after you finish it the first time -- you may need a little break from the dense material!

Any additional comments?

The author did a really good job of making some dense and boring concepts understandable and interesting!

surprisingly engaging

didn't expect to stay up late listening to this book but I did on several nights. a very well executed narrative of the history of finance as well as an in depth look at the modern industry. the narrator was excellent and definitely contributed to this book being enjoyable to listen to but I gave him four stars because he mispronounced quite a number of words and names which was somewhat irritating.

The story of money and man combined

The narrator's voice really gives the story a good cadence. The time-line is good and the author only skipped around to make a historical point when giving background.

educational

Would you listen to The Ascent of Money again? Why?

I've found this to be educational and provides a very good concept of banking and Government economic systems, Bottomline, the captialist or any economic market is not God made and does not act efficiently.

What did you like best about this story?

Great understand of economic systems and results of those decisions

Have you listened to any of Simon Prebble’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

NO

A thoroughly elucidating book.

As a student of and a trader in the Futures and Equities Markets, I am surprised to see in this book, an accurate, insightful, and sane exposition of what the markets are, whence they came, how they interact, their beauties and pitfalls, and wither they might go from here. Almost everything else written on this subject is gruel for the masses. This book is a repast of intelligence and clear thinking. My only regret is the public could not have had this book a year earlier. Politicians and the press & media just obfuscate and blather about the economy, but this is an extraordinary book that will educate all. As we go into a very, very bad time economically, the author gives an excellent presentation of the history and meaning of money in its varied forms that will help and guide the reader in making choices and in voicing their concerns and needs to their elected representatives.

A thoroughly elucidating book that is timely and accurate.

Best Financial Historico-comtemporary Review

This book is a must read for anyone who wants to understand how money works: the past, the present, and the future. I watched the author on TV one late night and he was impressive. Niall Ferguson did a good job by providing solid examples that leaves the listener/reader spell-bound by the depth of his research and the simplistic way he communicated his knowledge.

Ferguson has spurred my desire to understand in greater detail subjects like: Stock market-(bonds,options, hedge funds etc, Monetary Policy (I have just bought a book by Milton Friedman - inspired by you).

This is a transformative book and I am greatly indebted to Niall.

History of the world from the perspective of money

This is an historical account of money/econonmics in all of its shapes and forms. The book is arranged in chapters that discuss:

1. The rise of money in society, credit and debt and how hard currency was replaced with paper.
2. The rise of the bond market and the Rothschild family
3. The stock market and the bubbles that it has produced (e.g., Enron)
4. The start of insurance and the management of risk
5. Housing an mortgages
6. The effects of globalization (e.g., China's economic development)

I found this book enjoyable to listen too, but there were times when I wish it had gone into more depth with the explanation of certain economic topics. Still the scope was large enough to give a layman like myself a good survey of topics. I especially liked chapters 1, 3, and 4 but I felt that some of the parts in the (chap5) housing discussion were a little preachy about social inequalities. Also I found the discussion on globalization a little dated - this book was written in 2008.

The afterward of this book was also interesting but raced through the topic of behavior economics (the irrationality of economics due to human nature) way too fast for me.

I would recommend this book to those of you that have like popular economic books (e.g., freakonomics, predictably irrational) AND also like history. You must like listening to history books to enjoy this.

A first rate history of cold-hard cash

I would have never bought a "history of money" book, but I happened to see the author lecture on TV, and this guy is really interesting. So, I took a chance and got this book, and I have to say, it is truly an enthralling history spanning centuries. I found myself driving around just to keep listening in my car. Not only do you learn about history and historical figures, but also investing, real estate, banking, leverage, and all sorts of ideas that come up in the news since the Housing bust. I think it's just awesome that you could read a "history" book, and end up understanding current events and modern economic issues better! This is Grade A material. Get it! You'll learn something and enjoy it. Great narrator too!