"[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...

From a broad macro-financial structure perspective, overly easy credit conditions gave rise to house price booms and busts in several advanced economies (e.g., Ireland, Spain, and the U.S.), and, more specifically in the U.S., an underpricing of risk made possible by regulatory arbitrage and...