By highlighting the role played by non-Western countries it counters the conventional view of globalisation as "the triumph of the West", and sheds valuable light on some of today's problems, not least the unresolved conflicts between ethnic, national and supra-national identity

A meticulously researched history of the City under New Labour. This is a good and eloquently written book...refreshingly non-judgemental

On the money. The City's staggering fall from grace is neatly summed up by a former investment banker

A compelling story of how the City came to be regarded as the jewel in Britain's economic crown... yet was fundamnetally flawed...and became a byword for greed and complacency

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

Ahamed unravels the story of the most terrible financial collapse in history from the perspective of the four men who were largely responsible: the leading central bankers in the United States, Britain, France and Germany

[a] very readable portrait of the bankers who allowed the Great Depression to happen

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