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War and Gold
- A Five-Hundred-Year History of Empires, Adventures, and Debt
- Narrated by: Malk Williams
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
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War and Gold
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Summary
The world was wild for gold. After discovering the Americas, and under pressure to defend their vast dominion, the Habsburgs of Spain promoted gold and silver exploration in the New World with ruthless urgency. But, the great influx of wealth brought home by plundering conquistadors couldn’t compensate for the Spanish government’s extraordinary military spending, which would eventually bankrupt the country multiple times over and lead to the demise of the great empire.
Gold became synonymous with financial dependability, and following the devastating chaos of World War I, the gold standard came to express the order of the free market system. Warfare in pursuit of wealth required borrowing - a quickly compulsive dependency for many governments. And when people lost confidence in the promissory notes and paper currencies issued during wartime, governments again turned to gold.
In this captivating historical study, Kwarteng exposes a pattern of war-waging and financial debt - bedmates like April and taxes that go back hundreds of years, from the French Revolution to the emergence of modern-day China. His evidence is as rich and colorful as it is sweeping. And it starts and ends with gold.
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Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Mister Peridot
- 29-09-14
Missed opportunity
Kwarteng is clearly a good writer and very knowledgable man. And this book is exceptionally well read.
Author starts well, relating the tales of S. American gold and the state of the Spanish empire. But the book gradually metamorphoses into an increaingly dull and predictably standard account of 20th century economics. So there is plenty about deflation in post war Japan but next to nothing about how the Allies and Axis powers financed WW2.
Kwartemg takes the trouble, most of the time, to explain even simple economic terms which is a great boon for the average reader.
Overall, its as if this book was written to order and in a hurry so, like much of Niail Ferguson's work, which Kwarteng clearly admires, it lacks any real purpose or coherence. A shame as in its best passages this book s really good and addresses a fascinating and important subject.
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4 people found this helpful