Customer Reviews

MONEY OF THE MIND PB

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Though James Grant is an excellent writer, his florid style lends itself better to the short articles he publishes in his newsletter than to this mammoth history of American credit booms and busts. Having said that, if you slug through the details and the (always entertaining) anecdotes, the book can teach you an immense amount of financial history that has been largely forgotten along the way. Its thesis, in short, is that money has increasingly become a government sponsored fiction that serves to defeat the natural risk mechanisms of a healthy credit market (recall that it was written at the time of the S&L bailout). This historical perspective seems essential if you want to understand the liquid world of serial bubbles we have been swimming in for the past ten years, but it is also dangerous, insofar as it may make you want to buy a pile of gold to put in your concrete bunker.

James Grant is the best writer of his generation on Wall Street today. Those looking for a romp or Wall Street Noir might be disappointed. But for a truly literate look at the world of debt, this book not only informs but entertains.
James Grant. Accept no substitutes.

Mr. Grant writes a book now 15 years old that could be redone with a new chapter of the subprime follies. Hardly necessary as he goes over the last 100+ years of similar booms and busts of which subprime is the latest flavor. Knowing that America has recovered from all those busts actually provides some optimism versus the press's gloominess. When it seems darkest means its time to buy. Looking forward to a revised edition in a few years. Mr. Grant is an old time American not an anti-American, he's on record as Cleveland being his favorite President, hardly an anti-American.
This book is well worth the time providing some perspective on today's headlines.

Insightful as to American financial history PLUS a great, entertaining read. I disagree with a reviewer who said "the florid style is better suited to short articles." I found his current book of essays so-so. I found this book to be a real page turner and a lot of fun. Five stars for sure.

This is THE outstanding history of credit in the US since the Civil War. Grant is a great writer who knows both how to turn a phrase and to dig out and provide the interesting, and sometimes odd-ball fact that is perfect for illustrating his larger point. Grant makes clear that the 20th Century was the century of the democratization of credit and the socialization of risk.

Grant follows the trail of money and banking through our nations history from the Civil War until the 80s. He does it in a very interesting and infomative way. I've learned a lot, not just about our nations economic policies, but also about some of the great financiers of our past.

If you haven't read James Grant, you are in for quite a treat. This is another great example of his witty, smart style of writing and you can really profit from his research. I love his newsletter and this book is written as more of a history book rather than just his opinion. Good stuff

there was a very clever quote mentioned in the book by banker Stillman:

"Every American should reduce his talking by at least two-thirds. There is rarely any reason to talk."

Translated into 2007 prices, I would say the fraction should be upped to at least four fifths.

Verdict: not a bad little book if you can look past the author's anti-Americanism