Search - Ascent of Money on DVD

An excellent survey of the financial crisis

Future Watch Writer | Washington, D.C. Area | 04/02/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How did we get into the current financial mess? Niall Ferguson has put together one of the best programs on this. What's unique about Ferguson is a sense of history and time. He is one of the most creative historians in the world today. Ferguson goes back and studies the current crisis in terms of past crises. It's interesting that many big Wall Street firms used databases of only ten years in making hundreds of billions of dollars of real estate bets. Giant economic train wrecks are a part of free enterprise for better or worse. The 19th century was marked by a series of international financial disasters. (Contrary to what you might of heard, "globalization" is not new. In fact almost every major financial crisis of the last 200 years had international implications.) I would recommend Ferguson's book The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World I would also recommend Contours of the World Economy 1-2030 AD: Essays in Macro-Economic History This book is not easy reading but also has a unique value by going back hundred of years - not Wall Street's ten years. You'll find out that China as the world's largest economy is anything but "new". It was the world's largest economy for hundreds of years up to about 1800.

Sadly, Ferguson is not too optimistic about America's "recovery" plans. From 1981 to today we went from being the world's largest creditor to the world's largest debtor. He is very skeptical that borrowing trillions more from China and others is going to make things better.
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One of the most comprehensive accounts of financial history

Sick Minute | New Jersey | 06/23/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This documentary offers a unique window into the complexity of modern global financial markets, and is particularly salient in light of the recent economic crisis. It is really a historian's view on the role of money and finance throughout human history, and places modern political economy in crucial context. Ferguson argues implicitly that the indispensable role of financial history has been somewhat underappreciated even within academia, and that a better understanding of what makes the economy tick is critical to future prosperity. The book version of this work is also great, but the documentary complements the arguments with stunning visuals from around the world. This DVD is a must see for anyone working in the financial industry, any students of economics or history, and anyone wishing to better grasp contemporary finance."