The cash nexus : money and power in the modern world, 1700-2000

Following the international success of his iconoclastic "The Pity of War", Niall Ferguson now takes on the history of money -"the sinews of war" - and power.Throughout modern history, the way states have managed their money has been crucial to their survival and success.

It has been finance as much as firepower that has decided the fates of nations in the supreme test of war.And war has been the principal engine of financial innovation.

Our lives today are still dominated by the institutions of the warfare state: income tax, parliaments, national debts, central banks and even stock markets.The cash nexus is the crucial point where money and power meet.

But does money make the political world go round? Does the success of democracy depend on economic growth?

Does victory always go to the richest of the great powers? Or are financial markets the true "masters" of the modern world?With the analytical boldness and the grasp of dazzling detail for which he is now famous, Ferguson offers a fascinating account of the evolution of today's economic and political landscape, from "sleaze" to the single currency.

Far from being driven by iron economic laws, he argues, modern history is the product of unpredictable political conflicts; and it is their impact on volatile markets that can make or break an empire.

A "tour de force" actoss three centuries, "The Cash Nexus" should transform our understanding of political economy today.