"Lords of Finance: The Bankers who Broke the World" by Liaquat Ahamed

Lords of Finance recounts the Euro-American financial period between World War I and the
1929 Great Crash as seen from the perspective of the 4 central bankers of
the period: Benjamin Strong in the U.S., Montagu Norman in England, Emile
Morceau in France, and Hjalmer Schacht in Germany.
Ahamed does not always break new ground. Europe's demands of Germany
for war reparations (and our insistence for payback of loans from the
winning European countries) far beyond the country's capacity to pay
resulted in hyperinflation and set the stage for Hitler's rise. Strict
adherence to the gold standard fettered economies and distorted world trade
patterns. Yet the tale feels fresh and compelling in its parallels to our
present economic crash and what we know now helped us avoid a complete
breakdown of the credit market.
At first the story revolves tightly around these 4 leaders of finance,
but the thread unravels as the twenties wind down. For instance, Benjamin
Strong died in 1928, and so had no direct influence on the stock market
crash or resulting depression. Focusing on the bankers also puts John
Maynard Keynes in a supporting role. Viewed as a brash young upstart, in
retrospect his novel ideas would most likely have saved us from financial
catastrophe.
A great read, not too wonky, albeit a bit wordy. Submitted by Jim

Thank you, and good reading!