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'Enormously entertaining' - Sunday Times

'Exhaustive and convincingly argued' - Observer

'A complicated story well told, from which financial lessons emerge naturally' - Financial Times
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A unique look at the financial world and its troubled history, from the disaster that befell Spain in the sixteenth century to the 2008 global financial crisis

In the sixteenth century, Spanish conquistadors discovered the New World. The vast quantities of gold and silver would make their country rich, yet the new wealth, which was plunged into multiple wars, would eventually lead to the economic ruin of their empire.

Here, historian and politician Kwasi Kwarteng shows that this moment in world history has been echoed many times, from the French Revolution to both World Wars, right up to the present day, when our own financial crisis saw many of our great nations slip into financial trouble. Kwarteng reveals a pattern of war-waging, financial debt and fluctuations between paper money and the gold standard, and creates a compelling study of the powerful relationship that has shaped the world as we know it, that between war and gold.
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'Searing ... Few stones are left unlifted in this study, the subtitle of which gives every clue as to its ambition' - Independent

A searing study of how the Spanish conquistadors introduced conflict for the sake of wealth shows that money and battle remain inseparable ... Few stones are left unlifted in this study, the sub-title of which gives every clue as to its ambition * Independent *
Here is a book that explores the financial cost of war, rather than the human ... Kwarteng is thorough and insightful, weaving a narrative that transports the reader convincingly through time and place * Evening Standard *
As befits a highly intelligent man, the author describes these complex issues in an eminently digestible way ... Has he foretold the next catastrophe? * Standpoint *
A complicated story well told, from which financial lessons emerge naturally without Kwarteng finding it necessary to bludgeon the reader with his message * Financial Times *
A former financial analyst with an impeccable academic track record ... Aggressively intellectual ... An exciting political thinker * Sunday Times *
A meaty, thoughtful and well-written book * Literary Review *
Absorbing history of humankind’s most enduring preoccupations – war and gold ... A fascinating, lucid and serious history of money, from the discovery of the wealth of the Americans to the present financial crisis * The Times *
Enormously entertaining ... turns the evolution of money of the past 500 years into a rollicking narrative ... His book is so engagingly written that readers of all political persuasions should enjoy it * Sunday Times *
This exhaustive and convincingly argued history of money comes from an author whose day job is to sit in the House of Commons ... He certainly understands the forces and the mistakes that have led to that destabilisation * Observer *
This 500-year study of how cash and gold have affected high politics makes for surprisingly compelling reading * The Times Culture *

Kwasi Kwarteng was born in London to Ghanaian parents. He has a PhD in History from Cambridge University. In 2010 he was elected as the Member of Parliament for Spelthorne in Surrey. He is also the author of Ghosts of Empire.

@kwasikwarteng