Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 21-25 of 145
 A worthwhile trip.. November 30, 2009
Werner Nicdao (Philippines)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I found the book very fascinating and intriguing. Despite some typing errors, I found the author's writing style to be pleasant. It felt like an enlightening journey thanks to an adept storyteller. Heck, just buy the book and enjoy it.
 A quick enjoyable overview November 23, 2009
Max (Italy)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I watched the TV series and then read the book. The book is obviously structured after the TV series, and I do agree with some critical reviewers who think that this gives the book a "tellyish" flair. However in the book the author digs deeper and overall I think the outcome is fine. Again, those who expect a scientifically impeccable piece of work may be disappointed. In fact, even if at times some concepts get complicated, in general this book is thought for beginners or quasi-beginners. I truly enjoyed the chapter on the bond market, which I found extremely clear and well documented. I also enjoyed the chapter on the birth of the modern insurance business. On the contrary I thought the chapter on the origins of modern corporations on the one hand too elementary and on the other hand too focused on the Dutch East India Company and its story over the centuries - which eventually turn a bit tedious. Overall a very good book which I recommend.
Good read November 20, 2009
A C Broders III
Well written. Full of insights about financial history. I did not appreciate that the fate of the south in the Civil War was cast with the fall of New Orleans and the subsequent collapse of their monetary system. Lot of information about this kind of stuff and understandable by a financial tyro.
Compton Broders
Interesting November 11, 2009
Bader Alhashel
This is a quite interesting and insightful book. I very much enjoyed reading it. It takes you over a long history of finance and how various things in today's financial world have developed (e.g. equity, stock markets). This is a must for any finance scholar or with an interest in finance.
The Ascent of Money October 28, 2009
Derek (True-Small-Caps.Blogspot.Com) (Canada)
This is the kind of history I like -- history that tells a story. Niall Ferguson reveals the rise of paper money, fractional-reserve banking, the bond market, the invention of the joint-stock corporation, marine and life insurance, and the housing bubble. This is a great read. I loved his words on collateralized debt obligations: "At the time, the sellers of these `structured products' boasted that securitization was having the effect of allocating risk `to those most able to bear it'. Only later did it emerge that risk was being allocated to those least able to understand it." Despite the crises, Ferguson asserts that developed financial systems are efficient and promote developed economies. Yet, he says, the human mind has an inherent capacity for fallacy. If you believe the tech bubble and the housing bubble are the last bubbles we'll ever see, then think again.
Showing reviews 21-25 of 145
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