The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson

A history of money or the Western financial system written while it is in turmoil and therefore dating fast. It was definitely interesting, I learnt a few things. It was a bit once over lightly and its roots as a TV documentary were obvious although that is not necessarily a bad thing.

I can't say I agreed with the author's politics. He is a fan of the Chicago School of Economics and well, lets just say I am not. Or at least the way it was applied to various countries, especially my own in the 1980s-1990s, and his ends justify the means defence of the regime of General Pinochet is gross. And when on p.277 he notes that in a study of an informal or previously informal settlement in Argentina that property owners were 34% more likely than squatters to agree with the statement that 'money is important for happiness' and be significantly more materialistic and individualistic he seemed to think that was a good thing.
Actually that whole chapter seemed a bit confused, he seemed to first lament the Western obsession with real eastate, then praise an economist who though real estat was the answer to poverty, then point out that it didn't seem to pan out in real life. The whole thing being pretty much a bridge to talking about microcredit. I think it comes back to the TV thing.

The main problem with the book however is the lack of a glossary. He uses financial terms freely, and while he often defines them when first used, when they crop up pages later it might be good to have something to refer back to. I think the lack is particularly bad as one of his stated aims in writing the book is to improve the genearl public's level of financial literacy.