Lords of Finance - Ahamed

The Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed - 5/5

The Lords of Finance tracks the history of the world’s four most influential bankers during the inter-war period from 1918 to 1939. The book gives a good introduction to each banker, explores their background, how they rose to their position and attempts to identify the motivations for their policies and decisions. Each central banker no doubt made serious misjudgments at the time and it was these misjudgments (which mostly revolved around the gold standard and the flow of gold between nations) that led to the great depression. Ahamed is careful to explain how the gold standard operated; the reasons and credit policies that influenced the flow of gold into and out of each country, why the possession of gold was so critical to each country and how this affected currency strength and the greater economy. The easily understood explanations of the complexities of global finance, macroeconomics and the insights into the mystical world of central banking are indeed the greatest strengths of this book. The other amazing revelations in The Lords of Finance are how the arrogance and egos of a small group of men precipitated one of the greatest financial catastrophes of all time that had severe and lasting consequences.

Ahamed starts by introducing each of the four main protagonists: Montagu Norman, Benjamin Strong, Hjalmar Schacht and Émile Moreau. Each chapter is a colorful introduction to the lives of each man: their ambition, their personality, their background, their emotional makeup, their frailties and the significant events in their lives that influenced their decision making processes throughout their careers. Throughout these chapters (and indeed throughout the book) Ahamed introduces many supporting characters (e.g. Maynard Keynes) and at each point is careful to provide color and purpose to each person’s life enabling the reader to connect with each character no matter how big or insignificant and makes the world of finance seem a little more human.

The book moves on to look at the catastrophe of the reparations demanded by the allies after the fall of Germany, the idiotic egos and the ignorance that demanded Germany pay exorbitant reparations after World War 1. The collapse of the German economy and the hyperinflation that nearly bankrupted the country and how this affected Europe and the people of Germany at the time and how countries such as England and the US were unable to assist Germany because the central banker at the time, while being a well intentioned man, was clearly not sufficiently educated. Ahamed also looks at the economic conditions in America during the roaring 20s and the stagnation of the UK economy at the same time. Ahamed is careful to outline how each country returned to the gold standard in their own time and how this decision led to France becoming the premier economy in Europe. He then traces how returning to the gold standard at pre-war rates continued to deflate and depress the UK economy. Ahamed also outlines how the flow of gold into the US led to easy credit and how the rapid bubble that grew in the US stock market and how the New York fed and the US Treasury were at odds with each other as to how to control the bubble. The book then documents the sudden collapse of the stock market in New York, the collapse of banks in Europe and the global implications of the depression in the 1930s and how the only way countries could come out of it was to come back off the gold standard. Of course, Ahamed is also careful to note how the collapsing economy in Germany led to the rise of Hitler in Germany and of course, the consequences of Hitler’s rise are known to all.

Ahamed spends much of the book detailing the reasons why the bankers all wanted to return to the gold standard. According to him this was almost a theological necessity for them. They didn’t have any other way of thinking about money. Money needed to have a base from which it could derive its own value and not be assigned value by fiat. For the bankers this was the only alternative. Of course Ahamed is quick to note Keynes’ criticism of the UKs return to gold and throughout the book lauds Keynes for his insights and in the way Keynes always seemed to get things right on issues like reparations and the gold standard.

Ahamed’s book is highly relevant in today’s world. Reading through some of the events that led up to the great depression is like reading a newspaper on the credit crunch that crushed the world in 2007 & 2008 and that led to the collapse of Lehman Brothers and Bear Sterns. Ahamed admits that the release of his book during the latest financial crisis was serendipitous. It’s a wonderful read, highly recommended and extremely relevant in today’s world. The best way to sum up the work of the four bankers described in the book and what they achieved would be to quote Montagu Normans diary from the book: “As I look back, it now seems that, with all the thought and work and good intentions, which we provided, we achieved absolutely nothing…nothing that I did, and very little that old Ben did internationally produced any good effect – or indeed any effect alt all except that we collected money from a lot of poor devils and gave it over to the four winds.”

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Stalingrad - Beevor

Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943 by Anthony Beevor - 4/5

Beevor's Stalingrad is a powerful history of one of the biggest battles in history. He writes in a clear and logical way that reveals the full horror and tragedy of Stalingrad. His work strives to understand the human element and suffering on both sides of the battle and simultaneously effectively lays out the strategic and tactical elements of the commanders and the sheer insanity of Stalin and Hitler. His empathetic look at the conditions of the German soldiers and POWs in the final chapters of the book is a powerful reminder that war is not about valour and bravery but about death and suffering. And death and suffering is not only reserved for the losers, but also the victors as Beevor also explores the suffering of the Russians and their tremendous sacrifice.

Beevor begins his narrative at the beginning of Operation Barbarossa and the German progress to the gates of Moscow in the winter of 1941. He then follows the German retreat from Moscow and explores the rationale and the initial strategic goals of Operation Blue, the German plan to take over the oil fields in the Caucasus. He is quick to point out that the initial strategic goal of Operation Blue was not to hold Stalingrad but to destroy the manufacturing in the city and then aim for the oil fields. Beevor follows the rapid progression of the German Sixth Army across the Russian Steppe, over the River Don, to the gates of Stalingrad. He then documents in detail the defence of the city and the Russian struggle to prevent the Germans from crossing the Volga. Beevor then follows the Russian plan to liberate the city with Operation Uranus and Operation Little Saturn.

The power of Beevor's history is not the tactical and strategic understanding of the Battle of Stalingrad, but rather the human element involved. Beevor does not spare us from the details of the suffering and bravery on either side of the conflict, and the sheer cruelty and recklessness of the officers and the leaders involved. One of the most poignant anecdotes is the story of how a group of young Russian soldiers were sent out against a Panzer division without a single weapon between them. Of course their officer was drunk. The sheer reckless waste of life on the part of the Russians is shocking. And the willingness of Hitler and Stalin is a strong reminder of the folly of dictatorships and the abuse of power. Beevor is right to blame a lot of the wasted life on the shoulders of the leaders.

Beevor does try to help the reader understand the perspective of the soldiers on the ground and their undying faith in their leaders (although not all of them had the same belief as many betrayed their country and were executed). Even when all hope was lost, the German soldiers still believed in Hitler's promise that they would be saved and that a rescue was imminent. Even when Hitler was planning to sacrifice them as their was no realistic hope of victory.

Beevor also has strong opinions about the unimaginative and non-proactive approach the German Commander Paulus. He argues powerfully that Paulus was a good staff officer but not a battle group commander and squarely lays the blame on his shoulders for not preparing better when the Germans were being surrounded by the Russians. Beevor argues that Paulus should have prepared a Panzer division to enable them to breakout from the encirclement and should have been willing to disobey Hitler and breakout before it was too late. Beevor argues that Paulus would follow commands but never take the initiative to lead. It should be said however that Beevor redeems Paulus at the end when he argues that Paulus agreed to sign Soviet propaganda to encourage German soldiers to surrender so as to prevent the wasteful loss of life in a lost cause at the end of the War.

Still Beevor's most compelling writing is describing the hospital conditions and the suffering of the German's and Russians after the surrender of Stalingrad. His haunting descriptions of the hospitals, the hunger, the louse ridden bodies, the typhus, the dysentery and death by starvation among other things are powerful descriptions of what these men had to face. Of course the officers in the German command were given luxury quarters, but the grunts on the ground were sent off on cruel death marches into ill equipped, badly run prison camps. Yet Beevor does acknowledge that some Russians did help the Germans when they could.

Although Beevor looks at the long term implications of Stalingrad, I feel he rushed it at the end and that the far reaching implications of this battle could have been explored in greater depth, their effect on the German military, its implications for the fall of the Third Reich and the separation of Europe. I felt he kind of rushed the ending and that he could've added a little more. Despite this, it is a stunning book.

Stalingrad is a top-class laymen's history of an epic and important battle in World War 2. It turned the tide and the fortunes of the Allies and started the mighty push back of the Third Reich. It is worth the read, especially if you are interested in the Eastern Front and are looking for a beginner book on the topic. I do highly recommend Beevor's history and hope that no one ever has to go through such a horror ever again, but I do believe that is an idealistic and naïve hope.

Night - Wiesel

Night by Elie Wiesel -5/5

Originally posted at Christian Monitor.

"Night" is a terrifyingly vivid memoir of suffering, persecution and unrelenting hatred. It is a powerfully written story that should never be forgotten and one that is sadly repeated with terrifying regularity in the world today.

"Night" is Elie Wiesel's haunting autobiographical account of the terror, horror and brutality he was forced to endure in some of the worst Nazi death camps (including Auschwitz and Buchenwald) towards the end of World War 2. This terrifying memoir of brutal persecution and unrelenting hatred stands as a stark and timeless reminder to past, present and future generations of how hate and evil were manifested during this time and how they infected a whole nation with their invidious poison and violence.

Elie Wiesel is introduced to us in 1941 as a 12 years old Jewish boy from Sighet, a small town in Transylvania, who "believed profoundly" in the faith of his fathers. It was at that time the poor and humble "barefoot of Sighet," Moshe the Beadle, started to teach the young Elie the secrets of the cabbala. One day Moshe the Beadle was, along with all the other foreign Jews, expelled from the town. Months later Moshe, having miraculously survived the massacre of those who were expelled with him, returned to Sighet to tell his tale. No one listened and, if they did, none believed.

The slow tightening of the noose around the necks of the Jews of Sighet began with the arrival of the German soldiers and even then they, the Jews of Sighet, failed to believe the insane inhumanity that was to be their fate. "The Germans," writes Wiesel, "were already in the town, the Fascists were already in power, the verdict had already been pronounced, yet the Jews of Sighet continued to smile." And as it was all over Europe, so the race laws in Sighet came to pass. First the yellow stars, next the ghettos, and finally deportation.

From this point on the story spirals into ever-increasing madness and inhumanity, the vivid descriptions of the camps and the conditions are powerful renditions of a tormented mind. There is no more haunting or disturbing passage in literature than Wiesel's recollection of his first night in Auschwitz. He writes:

Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath silent blue sky.

Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever.

Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never.

Shall we or rather did we forget?

"Night," which was first published in English in 1960, is, retrospectively, a prophetic indictment of future generations who, having the testimony and collective memory of the horrors of the Jewish holocaust, have more than once turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to those who have been oppressed, persecuted and slaughtered for no greater crime than being human. Since the Jewish holocaust genocides in East Timor, Rwanda, Cambodia, North Korea and Sudan (of which the latter two are still ongoing), to name a few, lay bare the real emptiness of the promise "never again." While philosophers and theologians debate the nature of evil, evil continues to propagate itself across the world and thousands die. Sadly, like the Jews of Sighet who, in 1944, had not heard of Auschwitz, a majority of the world today does not know of the plight of thousands of people who daily live and die in the cauldrons of despair, fear and savage hate.

Many of those victims, especially in the two ongoing genocides (North Korea and Sudan) are Christian and sadly, a large majority of Christians in countries with religious freedom have not heard of their suffering. I myself am not innocent of such a charge. I myself only became aware of the magnitude and extent of the modern persecution of Christians a few years ago and it is therefore with all humility I ask Christians in the free lands to not turn their backs in denial on those who are suffering for their Lord Jesus. The victims and survivors of persecution are, like Moshe the Beadle, witnesses to the reality of suffering inflicted on the saints. They are heralds affirming the prophecies of Christ that his followers will be forced to suffer for his name. As the noose was slowly tightened around their necks with the progression of restrictive measures in their town Wiesel laments: "And we, the Jews of Sighet, were waiting for better days." Can we afford to turn aside and ignore the proclamations of those who suffer for their faith today? Dare we?

"Night" is a shocking and defiant exposition of the innate nature of the hearts men. Wiesel not only records the brutality and inhumanity of the guards and Nazi's towards the Jews but also the inhumanity of the camp inmates towards each other. Lest we be too quick to judge we should be reminded that when looking into the depths of the human heart Conrad's protagonist Kurtz whispered in caustic terror "the horror, the horror." In "1945: The Last Days", James Moll's documentary on the survivors of the death camps, one of the survivors declares "the inhumanity of man towards man is beyond belief." The Bible confirms beyond all doubt that "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jer 17:9, KJV)

Wiesel and two of his older sisters survived the camps. Their parents and their baby sister did not. On that first night in the camp Wiesel devastatingly recalls that he "did not know that in that place, at that moment, I was parting from my mother and Tzipora (his baby sister) forever."

In the preface to "Night's" 25th anniversary edition, Robert McAfee Brown writes: "It must be the prayer of this generation that with his (Wiesel's) help we can recapture enough of that reality so that it will never be repeated." Indeed the testimony in "Night" will continue to be read by generations to come. May it be that this haunting narrative would awaken our sleeping souls, draw us into contemplative prayer and humble petitions for those who are suffering around the world and may the horrors so acutely described in this tragic, brilliantly written non-fiction tome never be repeated.

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