"[A] magnificent history of money and finance."--New York Times Book Review“Convincingly makes the case that finance is a change-maker of change-makers.”--Financial TimesIn the aftermath of recent financial crises, it's easy to see finance as a wrecking ball: something that destroys fortunes...

Introduction -- The legacy of Napoleon: embargo, war, and peace -- Three revolutions: market, transportation, corporation -- Volcano weather -- Alabama fever: "I must go West and plant" -- Bank expansion: "frothy bubbles" -- Bank contraction: "the axe must be applied to the root of the evil" --...

The money supply in historical perspective -- Beyond monetary policy -- The development of a specie standard -- The U.S. banks and antebellum panics -- Greenbacks, gold, and silver purchases -- The national banking system -- Reform proposals and legislation -- The early Federal Reserve -- The...