July 16th, 2009 by Prieur du Plessis, Investment Postcards from Cape Town

Twitter It! | Email This Article

Niall Ferguson’s book, The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World, is now available in a full-length four-part documentary. Known for his intellectual firepower, Ferguson is an historian who specializes in financial and economic history and teaches at Harvard.

The Ascent of Money is well researched and especially relevant for putting the current financial crisis in historical context. As Ferguson said, “Money’s rise has never been a smooth upward ride … Financial history has repeatedly been interrupted by gut-wrenching crises, of which today’s is just the latest.”

Each of the parts lasts for about an hour, but is conveniently broken up into chapters should one only wish to view certain sections.

Part 1: From bullion to bubbles

Ferguson examines the current global financial crisis in the context of the financial history of the West. Topics in this part include: the beginnings of money lending, stocks, bonds and credit.

Part 2: Bonds of war

Ferguson documents the rise of modern finance in Europe and its expansion into the Far East, including the ascendancy of the Rothschilds and bond markets, and the decline of Europe’s landed aristocracy.

Part 3: Risky business

The roots of the insurance industry in Europe; disasters like Hurricane Katrina expose problems in risk management; the history of hedge funds.

Part 4: Planet Finance

Ferguson chronicles the spread of good - and bad - financial practices across the globe, and the consequences for all of us.

Source: PBS - Thirteen/WNET

Dr. Prieur du Plessis is an investment professional with 26 years' experience in investment research and portfolio management. More than 1,200 of his articles on investment-related topics have been published in various regular newspaper, journal and Internet columns, including his blog, Investment Postcards from Cape Town. He has also published a book, Financial Basics: Investment. Prieur is Chairman and principal shareholder of South African-based Plexus Asset Management, which he founded in 1995. The group conducts investment management, investment consulting, private equity and real estate activities in South Africa and a number of foreign countries. He also serves as Honorary Consul of Slovenia for South Africa, actively developing economic, cultural and scientific relations between Slovenia and South Africa. Prieur is 54 years old and live with his wife, television producer and presenter Isabel Verwey, and two children in Cape Town, South Africa. His leisure activities include long-distance running, traveling, reading, motor-cycling and scripophily. Read more from the author/contributor here.

Related Posts

Comments

Leave a Reply

 Comment Form 

Name (required)

E-Mail (required)

Website

Your Comment

Security Code: