One area that has been a major focus for Niall Ferguson, a prolific Scottish historian, is the world of finance. His book, The Ascent of Money begins with a brief discussion of pre-money societies. Then, he carries to the birth of banking in Renaissance Italy, the 18th-century Mississippi and South Sea bubbles, the role of Nathan Mayer Rothschild in the Napoleonic Wars and the 20th-century transition from the gold standard to free-market derivatives and currency trading.

  Behind the catchy title names; Dreams of Avarice, Of Human Bondage, Blowing Bubbles, The Return of Risky, Safe as Houses and From Empire to Chimerica, Niall Ferguson shows that finance is, in fact, the foundation of human progress. He reveals financial history as the essential back story behind all history.

   Through his eyes, familiar historical landmarks appear in a new and sharper financial focus. The Renaissance, a boom in the market for art and architecture,....