He buttresses his argument with deep knowledge of the times and massive scholarship. Everyone interested in history should read this great work.

A great economic historian gives us a sweeping perspective on a pivotal period of history: Britain during the Industrial Revolution. Tracing a long series of economic innovations and political reforms back to the ideas of the Enlightenment, Joel Mokyr shows us the foundations of the modern world.

Mokyr utilises deep knowledge of technological and industrial history, often narrated at the level of the individual inventor, thinker, factory owner or craftsman...[He] narrates brilliantly a rich story of modern economic growth.... Mokyr has made a deeply impressive contribution.

This is a large, learned and challenging book ... [which] anyone interested in history and the current economy needs to read

Clear about the causes, Augar is also clear about the solutions

Excellent

Niggling away in his opening chapters is a question I believe will produce unforgiving verdicts from future historians: how could a Labour government let this happen?

This is a useful contribution to the growing literature about the biggest financial crisis for decades

[a] compelling and readable history that will enable the reader to make sense of the collapse of confidence that started in 2007 and became the Credit Crunch

Augar is a former city man with the rare ability to take the reader through the complexities of high finance.

[Augar] sees the important issue'

A colourful account of the financial rollercoaster ride of the last 10 years... What really happened at Northern Rock, Royal Bank of Scotland et al? This gives you a clearer idea

Timely book

Augur skewers politicians and regulators deftly. He's good on hedge funds, too.

Brilliant

In this riveting, well-written expose, Shaxson goes deep into the largely unexamined realm of offshore money. In the process, he reveals that this shadow world is no mere sideshow, but is troublingly central to modern finance, with the US and the UK as leaders. The resulting abuses are widespread, ranging from tax revenue stripping from African nations to individuals and corporations escaping enforcement and accountability. A must read for anyone who wants to understand the hidden reasons why financial services firms have become so powerful and impossible to reform

They who sold us globalisation as a way of the whole world getting richer with fair rules, cheated us by letting the rich and powerful go "offshore". This gripping exposé should help end the scandal

Possibly the most important political book that I have read since The Spirit Level

He has prised the lid off an important and terrifying can of worms

Lively and well written book

A welcome account of how the sun is never allowed to set on the British empire's old islands, whose fiscal pirates hoard the tax-free treasures of the rich

Shaxson delves into capitalism's secret nooks and tells us about how a culture of secrecy can perpetuate itself. Very interesting

A compelling read [...] an important and very much a live topic, it'll take you a few hours to read the book but it will be a worthwhile investment of time

What makes this such a good read for the layman is that the author employs all his journalistic skill (he used to work at Reuters) to illustrate his arguments and uses real examples to real examples to illustrate complex issues

This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the world we live in

This engrossing book about the offshore banking racket, with its eye-opening scrutiny of tax havens and the suited scoundrels who profit from them, will make you think again about the murkier side of the City...This first-rate forensic work ends with a plea that the closed City "must be abolished and submerged into a...fully democratic London"

[An] informed polemic against finance capital

Now more than a decade old, this is still the best introduction to the world of tax havens