The Ascent of Money:
A Financial History of the World
By Niall Ferguson
HG171 .F47 2008
New Book Island, 2nd floor
Money, money, money. You can’t live with it, can’t live without it. It makes the world go round and all that good stuff. It dominates the conversation in some form or another when it comes to the nightly news to the water cooler to the classroom. The question is how did it get to be so powerful? This week’s featured title seeks to answer that question.
Ferguson, highly-revered historian and scholar, tackles world history by examining the financial back stories of time. The author claims that evolution of credit and debt has had more of an impact on the rise of civilizations than any technological innovation and cites examples from the Italian Renaissance to the American Civil War. Perhaps by looking to the past can provide answers to today’s tumultuous financial environment.
Investment Banking Explained:
An Insider’s Guide to the Industry
by Michel Fleuriet
HG4534 .F57 2008
New Book Island, 2nd floor
I’m not sure that the country expected such a shakeup in the financial services sector and the possible congressional bailout on the way. You might want to check out this week’s featured book – although the author obviously didn’t forecast the market’s swift fallout.
Fleuriet, drawing from his experience at the helm of Merrill Lynch France, Chase Manhattan France and others, shares his knowledge of the complex world of investment banking. You don’t have to be a business expert to follow the text, as the author begins with the development of the industry and the establishment of the (now tumbling) Wall Street giants. He then goes into details regarding the specialties of investment banking, such as equity research, mergers & acquisitions, and asset management. If you feel lost while watching the business headlines today, this book provides insight into an industry that is currently on everyone’s mind in some form or another.
