Lords of Finance

1929, The Great Depression, and The Bankers Who Broke The World

Liaquat Ahamed

It is commonly believed that the Great Depression of 1929 resulted from a confluence of events beyond any one person’s or government’s control. In fact, as Liaquat Ahamed reveals, it was the decisions taken by a small number of central bankers that were the primary cause of the economic meltdown, the effects of which set the stage for the Second World War and reverberated for decades. As yet another period of economic turmoil makes headlines today, the Great Depression and the year 1929 remain the benchmarks for true financial mayhem. Offering a new understanding of the global nature of financial crises, Lords of Finance offers a timely and arresting reminder of the enormous impact that the decisions of central bankers can have, of their fallibility, and of the terrible human consequences that can result when they are wrong.

First published:: 2009
Published by:: William Heinemann
Length:: Hardcover 564 pages

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About the author

Liaquat Ahamed is an investment manager and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. He is a director of Aspen Insurance Holdings and a member of Board of Trustees at the Brookings Institution. Lords of Finance was awarded the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for History, the 2010 Spear's Book Award (Financial History Book of the Year), the 2010 Arthur Ross Book Award Gold Medal and the 2009 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award. For 2009 it was recognized as one of Time magazine's "Best Books of the Year", New York Times "Best Books of the Year" and Amazon.com's "Best Books of the Year".