LORDS OF FINANCE: The Bankers Who Broke the World

$32.95

Liaquat Ahamed tells the story of four central bankers—Montagu Norman of the Bank of England, Émile Moreau of the Banque de France, Hjalmar Schacht of the Reichsbank, and Benjamin Strong of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York—and how their decisions set the stage for the Great Depression in the 1930s.

From his perch as a professional investment manager for 25 years, Ahamed offers insight into the global nature of financial crises. He currently advises several hedge fund groups, including the Rock Creek Group and the Rohatyn Group. He has degrees in economics from Harvard and Cambridge universities.

“A grand, sweeping narrative of immense scope and power, the book describes a world that long ago receded from memory: the West after World War I, a time of economic fragility, of bubbles followed by busts and of a cascading series of events that led to the Great Depression.”—Joe Nocera, Sunday Book Review, The New York Times.

“Ahamed does a superlative job of explaining the ever-germane way the problems of one shyster, one bank, one treasury or one economy can set off repercussions all around the globe.”—Janet Maslin, International Herald Tribune.

“The lessons to be gleaned are both spooky and reassuring, showing how today’s dynamics both do and don’t resemble what unfolded in that age of ocean liners and evening dress.”—James Pressley, Bloomberg News •