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The End of Alchemy
- Money, Banking, and the Future of the Global Economy
- Narrated by: Greg Wagland
- Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
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The End of Alchemy
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Publisher's Summary
Something is wrong with our banking system. We all sense that, but Mervyn King knows it firsthand; his 10 years at the helm of the Bank of England, including at the height of the financial crisis, revealed profound truths about the mechanisms of our capitalist society. In The End of Alchemy, he offers us an essential work about the history and future of money and banking, the keys to modern finance.
The Industrial Revolution built the foundation of our modern capitalist age. Yet the flowering of technological innovations during that dynamic period relied on the widespread adoption of two much older ideas: the creation of paper money and the invention of banks that issued credit. We take these systems for granted today, yet at their core both ideas were revolutionary and almost magical. Common paper became as precious as gold, and risky long-term loans were transformed into safe short-term bank deposits. As King argues, this is financial alchemy - the creation of extraordinary financial powers that defy reality and common sense. Faith in these powers has led to huge benefits; the liquidity they create has fueled economic growth for two centuries now. However, they have also produced an unending string of economic disasters, from hyperinflations to banking collapses to the recent global recession and current stagnation.
How do we reconcile the potent strengths of these ideas with their inherent weaknesses? King draws on his unique experience to present fresh interpretations of these economic forces and to point the way forward for the global economy. His bold solutions cut through current overstuffed and needlessly complex legislation to provide a clear path to durable prosperity and the end of overreliance on the alchemy of our financial ancestors.
Critic Reviews
What listeners say about The End of Alchemy
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Thomas
- 03-04-2017
a must read. objective, neutral, informative.
finally a book which seems not have the purpose to sell more books but is trying to give an objective view and to inform.
unlike others, there is no judging, no finger pointing.
very well written and preformed.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- steve
- 23-04-2018
A good book, but maybe not the best format.
I appreciate this book and the ideas in it but it has a lot of digressions, historical examples etc. and so it can all become a bit of a blur if you're looking for a book to listen to while doing something else.
The ideas aren't complicated or hard to understand but there is just such a volume of stuff around them that it sometimes gets difficult to keep track of the point the author is making. I was doing some simple activities while listening and found I would get lost in the details and lose the main thread of the ideas. I think this is a fault of the book itself rather than me just being too dumb or inattentive (although all dumb, inattentive people probably think that!).
If you're interested in finding how money and banking work then give it a go. Maybe you're smarter than me!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Cedric Hodges
- 04-06-2018
Well worth a listen
The main strength of this book was the sense of history that it's author posses.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jules
- 28-03-2017
Complexity made easier to understand
Explanation and arguments finely balanced between complete novice and professional levels. subtle humour in what is often a dry topic.
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