Book reviews
Book notes: The wealth of a nation, by George Hodgson
A deep dive into the economic and institutional transformations that supported the rise of English capitalism
Book notes: Balance of power: central banks and the fate of democracies, by Éric Monnet and translated by Steven Rendall
Book notes: Fintech: finance, technology and regulation, by Ross Buckley, Douglas Arner and Dirk Zetzsche
Book notes: Going infinite: the rise and fall of a new tycoon, by Michael Lewis
Book notes: Virtuous bankers: a day in the life of the 18th-century Bank of England, by Anne L Murphy
A bottom-up account of how clerks managed operations and enhanced the BoE’s reputation
Book notes: Number go up: inside crypto’s wild rise and staggering fall, by Zeke Faux
The book would be a great, comic obituary of crypto, if only crypto were dead
Book notes: The ruble: a political history, by Ekaterina Pravilova
Indispensable reading for anyone interested in Russia and comparative, long-term historical accounts of monetary ideologies and practice
Book notes: Easy money, by Dror Goldberg
Interesting interpretations but hard to view 1690s Massachusetts paper as the invention of modern currency
Book notes: We need to talk about inflation, by Stephen King
A short, sensible book that highlights key issues – and might make a good, belated Christmas gift!
Book notes: The economic government of the world 1933–2023, by Martin Daunton
A deep dive into the politics, personalities, trade theory and trade practice of the era, but missing a crucial element: the collapse in the US stock of money
Book notes: Economists in the cold war, by Alan Bollard
A geographically balanced review of key economists that shaped the world economy
Book notes: The Continental dollar, by Farley Grubb
Grubb’s book brings an important new interpretation to this founding moment in US financial history
Book notes: Bold vision, by Freddy Orchard
Largely uncritical insights about the formation of the GIC and Singapore’s currency regime
Book notes: My journeys in economic theory, by Edmund Phelps
Six decades of the Nobel Prize-winner’s thoughts – from micro-foundations of macro theory to the possibilities beyond working, saving and investing
Book notes: The crisis of democratic capitalism, by Martin Wolf
A sincere attempt to explain and fix the failing of capitalism in liberal democracies
Book notes: Inflation targeting and central banks, by Joanna Niedźwiedzińska
A useful and rich reference source, especially for central banks moving to adopt inflation targeting
Book notes: Forks in the road, by C Rangarajan
A memoir by one of India’s most distinguished governors, who presided over critical policy issues such as the 1990s’ balance-of-payments crisis
Book notes: O Governador, by Luis Rosa
Documents Carlos Costa’s clashes with Portugal’s elite during the eurozone sovereign debt and banking crisis
Book notes: Labor in the age of finance, by Sanford M Jacoby
A fascinating attempt to document the US labour movement’s efforts to use pension fund money to bolster its voice
Book notes: The Federal Reserve: a new history, by Robert L Hetzel
This book should become the standard reference for scholars
Book notes: States and the masters of capital, by Quentin Bruneau
Chronicling the practices and players involved in privately financed sovereign debt
Book notes: The rise of central banks, by Leon Wansleben
The books is at its best when the author focusses on sociological angles related to central bank economics
Book notes: The big con, by Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington
The authors highlight that the excessive pursuit of efficiency results in ineffective government agencies
Book notes: Money and the rule of law, by Peter Boettke, Alexander Salter and Daniel Smith
A largely US-focused book, which hankers for more robust rules for central banks but isn’t explicit as to what kind