Financing the First World War by Hew Strachan
November 6th 2006 08:08
Hew Strachan’s Financing the First World War looks at the war from a very unusual angle. When I picked up the book in the library, the librarian was impressed. She thought it was unusual too.
At the beginning of the World War I, London was the world’s financial capital. At its end, its position was taken by New York. The book describes in detail the vicissitudes in fortunes of the main players of the war.
It gives you a low-down of the stock market fluctuations, currency vagaries, loans and moratoria troubles and the gold standard problems that beset the war. It omits any details of small change like you know the number of deaths, the battles won and lost, the politics, the politicians, in short, it omits any of the conventional details of what you might call a war narrative and focuses on its financial underbelly. That gives you a tremendous insight into how wars are fought and lost and how important a good financial policy is to waging a war.
I am no economist and I must confess that I found a lot of the verbiage used in this book daunting. Nevertheless, I kept reading the book without giving up; it’s that good! Thought it’s clearly intended for the scholarly circuit, it is a small book and with a little effort, can be grasped easily by others as well.
At the beginning of the World War I, London was the world’s financial capital. At its end, its position was taken by New York. The book describes in detail the vicissitudes in fortunes of the main players of the war.
It gives you a low-down of the stock market fluctuations, currency vagaries, loans and moratoria troubles and the gold standard problems that beset the war. It omits any details of small change like you know the number of deaths, the battles won and lost, the politics, the politicians, in short, it omits any of the conventional details of what you might call a war narrative and focuses on its financial underbelly. That gives you a tremendous insight into how wars are fought and lost and how important a good financial policy is to waging a war.
I am no economist and I must confess that I found a lot of the verbiage used in this book daunting. Nevertheless, I kept reading the book without giving up; it’s that good! Thought it’s clearly intended for the scholarly circuit, it is a small book and with a little effort, can be grasped easily by others as well.
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