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Robert Sobel, "The Pursuit of Wealth: The Incredible Story of Money Thoughout the Ages"

An epic saga that recounts the turbulent history of money. The Pursuit of Wealth is a fascinating 5,000 year journey through the evolution of money and investing. From risk versus return in Mesopotamia through today's rough-and-tumble, high-stakes stock markets, this behind-the-scenes tale will intrigue both financial historians and history-minded investors alike.

Barron's columnist Robert Sobel weaves a richly textured tale of risk and the never ending quest for wealth since the dawn of man. The Pursuit of Wealth—filled with gripping stories, tales of war, and legacies of great fortunes won and lost—is much more than simply a compelling read; it provides valuable insights that can be applied to today's turbulent times.

From the Back Cover

Money—How it has built nations, destroyed dynasties, and shaped every facet of human history. Mesopotamian farmers used it to irrigate their crops... Roman armies to expand Caesar's reach throughout Europe and Africa... Incan rulers to build temples and civilizations... U.S. industrialists to push the frontiers of corporate achievement.

The Pursuit of Wealth tells the fascinating history of how the desire for money has fueled humankind's greatest achievements—and produced our most profound tragedies. Readers from all walks of life—from academics in search of a compelling narrative to investors and business persons looking for time-tested solutions to age-old dilemmas—will discover how and why money has become inextricably interwined with every thread in the fabric of human history. Gripping stories and legacies of great fortunes won and lost include:

• Historical giants like Alexander the Great and Napoleon—and how their battle-honed lessons on wealth and conquest still ring true in today's burgeoning economy
  
  
• Analyses of twelfth century Venetian financial empires that provide stunning parallels and insights into today's global business and investment arena
  
  
• How modern rules, regulations, and laws of commerce have developed from 5000 B.C. through today's technological battleground—and what to look for next

No single idea has had more impact on the development of human history—and been less understood—than the drive for money. The Pursuit of Wealth is the first comprehensive investigation into this essential topic. Each page will open your eyes to the startling ways and means of property acquisition throughout history—and provide you with vital clues that can help you understand today's financial world.

Contents

& 8220;Introduction

Acknowledgments

1 The Ancient World

 The Ancient Near East: Economies Dominated by Political and Religious Institutions

 Hellenic Greece: Seafaring Entrepreneurs

2 The Imperial Age of Alexander and Rome

 The Hellenistic Civilization

 The Roman Republic: Private Enterprise Unleashed

 The Roman Empire

3 The European Middle Ages: The Birth of a New Economic Age

 The Manorial Age

 The Next Invasions of Europe

 The Economic Quickening and the Crusades

 The Lenders

4 The Italian Bankers and Their Clients

 The Results of the Crusades

 The Venetian Way

 Florence

 The Venice of the North

 The Bankers

 The End of the Era

5 The Atlantic Age

 The Drive to the East, the Way to the West

 The Portuguese Pioneers

 Portugal and the Slave Trade

 Other European Ventures in the Slave Trade

 The Portuguese Empire

 Spain and the Race for Wealth

6 Europe's American Empires

 The Conquistadores

 The Dawn of Mercantilism

 The New Europe of the Fuggers

 The Price Revolution and Economic Stimulation

 The Dutch Maritime Empire

 Speculators and Bubbles

7 The English Advantage

 John Hawkins and the Slave Trade

 The Joint Stock Companies

 The Sugar Trade

 New England

 The Dutch Challenge

 The Realization of Wealth in the North

 Southern Tobacco

 Northern Merchants

8 The American Paths to Wealth

 Wealth and the Background to the American Revolution

 The Economics of Protest

 Alternative Paths to Wealth in the New Nation

 Lotteries As a Means to Obtain Wealth and Raise Funds

 The New Government

 The Road to the Constitution

 The Jeffersonian Conception of Wealth

 Alexander Hamilton and the Creation of the National Credit

9 Industrial Wealth

 Increased Population and Agriculture

 The Industrial Revolution

 Technology and the Textile Industry

 The Steam Engine and Its Impact

 Eli Whitney and the Emergence of the Cotton South

 Samuel Slater, Francis Cabot Lowell, and the Emergence of the Industrial North

 The Quaker Alternative

10 The Mechanization of Agriculture

 Cyrus McCormick and the Reaper

 The Need for Transportation

 Infrastructure and Wealth: The Erie Canal

 Canal Mania

 John Jacob Astor and Real Estate

11 Infrastructure and Wealth

 Small Beginnings on Wall Street

 The New Nation's First Major Stock Speculator

 The New York Stock and Exchange Board

 The Importance of Railroads

 The New York Central

 The Pennsylvania Railroad

 The Telegraph

12 Emperor Wheat and King Cotton

 Northern Wheat

 Profits on the Plantations

 The Economics of Slavery

 The Domestic Slave Trade

 "Cotton is King"

13 Gold, Silver, and the Civil War

 Jay Cooke: Financing the Union Cause

 The Wall Street Scene

 The Gold Ring

 Resumption of Specie Payments

 The Silver Bonanza

14 The Impact of the Transcontinentals

 Wealth in the Western Rails

 Selling Ice

 The Revolution in Meatpacking

 Railroads and Wealth from Beer

 Wealth from Cattle

 The Farmer and the West

 The Election of 1896

15 The Arrival of Big Business

 Pools and Trusts

 The Industrial Corporation

 The Promoter

 The New Face of Investment Banking: J. P. Morgan

 Carnegie and Morgan

 The Carnegie Millionaires and Spindletop

16 The Government-Industrial Complex, 1914-1929

 The American Government on the Eve of War

 World War I: The Neutrality Phase

 American Business and the War

 The War Industries Board

 The Creation of Radio Corporation of America

 The Government and Business during the Harding-Coolidge Years

 U.S. Government and Business Involvement in Latin America

 Wall Street's Pursuit of Wealth Overseas

 Helping Europe and Reaping the Financial Rewards

17 The Great Bull Market of the 1920s

 A. P. Giannini: Financing Small Business

 The Glamour Industries: Radio, Motion Pictures, and Automobiles

 Organized Crime: Making Money from Prohibition

 The Florida Land Boom

 The Great Bull Market

18 The Old and the New in Post-World War II America

 The Stock Market Slumbers

 The Housing Boom

 Gene Ferkauf, the Duke of Discounting

 The Automobile Industry Awakens

 The Motelling of America

 The McDonald's Concept

 Frederick Terman and the Arrival of the Military-Industrial-Educational Complex

19 The Revival of the Securities Markets

 The Puzzling Case of Television Securities

 The Coming of the Computer

 Charles Merrill, Keith Funston, and People's Capitalism

 Mutual Funds

 Pension Funds

 The Great Bull Market of the 1960s

 The Craze for New Issues

20 Creating Wealth During the Great Inflation

 The Beginning of Inflation

 Profiting from the Higher Price of Petroleum

 The Golden Opportunity

 Collectibles

 Real Estate

 The Money Market Alternative

 Playing the Horses in a New Way

 The End of the Great Deflation and the Coming of the New Era

21 The Democratization of Wealth

 The New Industries: Personal Computers

 The New Industries: Health Care Transformed

 The Rebirth of Equities

 Metromedia Shows the Way

 Beatrice at the Carverie

 The Oil Well on the NYSE Floor

 The Changing Face of Savings

 Epilogue

Index& 8221;

Tags: History, Economics, Finance, WorldPolitics

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See Also:

Niall Ferguson, "The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World"

Muhammad Yunus, "Creating A World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism"

Thomas L. Friedman, "Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution—and How It Can Renew America"

J. M. Roberts, "The New History of the World, 4e"

Daniel Yergin, "The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, & Power"

David S. Landes, "The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor"

Thomas L. Friedman, "The World is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century"

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