Ascent of Money A Financial History of the World (Paperback, 2009)

Bread, cash, dosh, dough, loot. Call it what you like, it matters now more than ever. In The Ascent of Money, Niall Ferguson shows that finance is the foundation of all human progress and the lifeblood of history.

From the cash injection that funded the Italian Renaissance to the stock market bubble that sparked the French Revolution, from the bonds that fuelled Britain's war effort to the Wall Street Crash and today's meltdown, this is the story of boom and bust as it's never been told before.

Whether you're scraping by or rolling in it, there's no better time to understand the ascent of money.

The hardback publication of Niall Ferguson's book was prophetic, but this edition - topped and tailed with a passionate, closely argued call for us to educate ourselves about financial markets - could not be more timely (Tony Clements Telegraph )

Dazzling ... extraordinarily timely (Martin Vander Weyer Spectator )

A whistle-stop tour of the historical events that gave us the financial system we have today ... To Niall Ferguson's list of talents we can now add great timing (Stephanie Flanders Mail on Sunday )

Ferguson is the most brilliant British historian of his generation ... he writes with splendid panache ( Times )

Ferguson's powers are on formidable display (Tristram Hunt Observer )

Wonderfully accessible ... Ferguson is spot on (Allister Heath Literary Review )

A fine history ... told with verve and insight ( Daily Telegraph )

One of the world's leading historians (Hamish McRae Independent )

Bread, cash, dosh, dough, loot: 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 labour. But in THE ASCENT OF MONEY, Niall Ferguson shows that finance is in fact the foundation of human progress. With the clarity and verve for which he is famed, Niall Ferguson reveals financial history as the essential back-story behind all history. He explains why the origins of the French Revolution lie in a stock market bubble caused by a convicted Scots murderer. He shows how financial failure turned Argentina from the world’s sixth richest country into an inflation-ridden basket case – and how a financial revolution is propelling the world’s most populous country from poverty to power. Yet the most important lesson of the financial history is that sooner or later every bubble bursts. And that’s why, whether you’re scraping by or rolling in it, there’s never been a better time to understand the ascent of money. Niall Ferguson is one of Britain’s most renowned historians. He is Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University, a Senior Research Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford University, and a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. The bestselling author of Paper and Iron, The House of Rothschild, The Pity of War, The Cash Nexus, Empire, Colossus and The War of the World, he also writes regularly for publications all over the world. He has written and presented four highly successful television documentary series for Channel Four, most recently The Ascent of Money. He, his wife and three children divide their time between the United Kingdom and the United States.

Niall Ferguson is one of Britain's most renowned historians. He is Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University, a Senior Research Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford University, and a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. The bestselling author of Paper and Iron, The House of Rothschild, The Pity of War, The Cash Nexus, Empire, Colossus and The War of the World, he also writes regularly for newspapers and magazines all over the world.