Liaquat Ahamed
The Great Depression was not an inevitable disaster but the direct result of catastrophic decisions made by four powerful central bankers who thought they were saving the world.
The book profiles the heads of the central banks in the US, UK, France, and Germany who held unprecedented power over the global economy.
A rigid adherence to the gold standard acted as a straitjacket that prevented these leaders from responding effectively to economic shocks.
Punitive war reparations placed on Germany and the complex web of allied war debts created deep structural instabilities in the financial system.