The world-renowned economist offers an irreverent analyses of financial debacle from the tulip craze of the seventeenth century to the recent plague of junk bonds. With incomparable wisdom, skill, and wit, world-renowned economist John Kenneth Galbraith traces the history of the major speculative episodes in our economy over the last three centuries. Exposing the ways in which normally sane people display reckless behavior in pursuit of profit, Galbraith...

The Wealth and Poverty of Nations is David S. Landes's acclaimed, bestselling exploration of one of the most contentious and hotly debated questions of our time: Why do some nations achieve economic success while others remain mired in poverty? The answer, as Landes definitively illustrates, is a complex interplay of cultural mores and historical circumstance. Rich with anecdotal evidence, piercing analysis, and a truly astonishing range of erudition,...

Could you identify a sausage gun if you had to? How about a plate warmer or a well-sweep? Any idea how the term log-rolling really originated? Alice Morse Earle (1851-1911), a prolific popular historian and the first American to chronicle everyday life and customs of the colonial era, describes what these and many other obscure utensils were and how they were used. She also conveys a vivid picture of home production of textiles, colonial dress, transportation,...

Draws on hundreds of hours of interviews and in-depth research to relate the complete story of the nation's financial meltdown, from the trading floors of lower Manhattan to the power corridors inside the Beltway.

In its hubris, the financial sector has hijacked the American economy and put our very global future at risk. “Bad money” refers not just to the depreciated dollar but to the dangerous attitudes and flawed products of wayward megafinance. Also “bad” are the risk miscalculations and strategic abuses of new multitrillion-dollar products and vehicles like CDOs and SIVs. Phillips lashes out at the “bad money” practices...

The age of human rights has been kindest to the rich. As state violations of political rights garnered attention, a commitment to material equality disappeared and market fundamentalism emerged as the dominant economic force. Samuel Moyn asks why we chose not to challenge wealth and neglected the demands of a broader social and economic justice.--

The former Federal Reserve Board chairman reveals the financial close call that nearly resulted in an economic disaster after September 11, his efforts to safeguard American interests, and the personal and educational history that informed his choices.

"The bestselling author of The Death of Money and Currency Wars reveals the global elites' dark effort to hide a coming catastrophe from investors. A drumbeat is sounding among the global elites. The signs of a worldwide financial meltdown are unmistakable. This time, the elites have an audacious plan to protect themselves from the fallout: hoarding cash now and locking down the global financial system when a crisis hits. Since 2014, international...

"In the spring of 1934, Virginia Woolf sketched an affectionate three-page "biographical fantasy" of her great friend, John Maynard Keynes, attempting to encompass no less than 25 themes, which she jotted down at its opening: "Politics. Art. Dancing. Letters. Economics. Youth. The Future. Glands. Genealogies. Atlantis. Mortality. Religion. Cambridge. Eton. The Drama. Society. Truth. Pigs. Sussex. The History of England. America. Optimism. Stammer....