Modern history shows that a nation’s success largely depends on the way it manages its money. In times of war, finance has been just as crucial to victory as firepower. But where do money and politics meet? Starting in 1700 and ending at the present day, Niall Ferguson offers a bold and dazzling analysis of the evolution of today’s economic and political landscape. Far from being driven by the profit motive alone, our recent history, as Ferguson makes brilliantly clear, has also been made by potent and often conflicting human impulses – sex, violence and the desire for power.