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The Ascent of Money

A Financial History of the World

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The Ascent of Money

By: Niall Ferguson
Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
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About this listen

The abridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Niall Ferguson's epic history, The Ascent of Money.

Behind each great historical phenomenon there lies a financial secret - Niall Ferguson uncovers the hidden stories behind history.

Bread, cash, dosh, dough, loot. Call it what you like, it matters now more than ever. In The Ascent of Money, Niall Ferguson shows that finance is the foundation of all human progress and the lifeblood of history. From the cash injection that funded the Italian Renaissance to the stock market bubble that sparked the French Revolution, from the bonds that fuelled Britain's war effort to the Wall Street Crash and today's meltdown, this is the story of boom and bust as it's never been told before. Whether you're scraping by or rolling in it, there's no better time to understand the ascent of money.

©2010 Niall Ferguson (P)2017 Penguin Audio
Economic History World Thought-Provoking War Imperialism Wall Street Global Financial Crisis US Economy
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What listeners say about The Ascent of Money

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Knowledge is power

Brilliantly narrated and full of history and interesting information and events throughout the financial history of the world.

Thank you.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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The history of money

Absolutely fascinating book albeit a tad dry at times.. I hear there is an accompanying TV series which I imagine is splendid.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Decent short overview of history of money

I think I'll have to listen to the book again, it is not a gripping listen so my attention drifted from the narration. Still it's a good overview of history of money.

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4 people found this helpful

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Good but too short

Like all abridged books, it seems too brief, missing the extra detail. Shame the unabridged isn’t available.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Okayish book, far too repetitive.

Too many repetitions for same thing, story went from one direction to other quickly. Otherwise some good points were made throughout the book.

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The author deserves his coins, the narrator too!

I loved every second of this book. Very thorough and witty. The narrator did a splendid job with reading the book. If you've ever wondered where it (money, the financial system as we know it) all started from, this is a great place to start. Such a great read (or rather listen).

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Not a book about money

This is a book about finance, and big finance at that. Largely ignored the role of money in changing and shaping human behaviour for the great majority. Or it’s ever increasing role in guiding real tangible investment. Instead it is a singular take on the development of intangible financial markets and their treatment of risk.

I read this book as a trained economist - as a layman it would be near impossible to follow properly. While the odd concept or term is explained in depth, the author often resorts to peppering his account with terminology that requires a depth of understanding and context not presented.

The ground covered is interesting and at times lively, but is extremely partial and in many areas to opinionated to properly be called a “history”. Buyer beware.

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3 people found this helpful

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Abridged - misses a lot

Didn't realise it was abridged when I bought the audio book. Then when listening it felt like whole sections were being skipped. I then realised it was abridged and not really worth listening to in this form.

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2 people found this helpful