One of the foremost financial writers of his generation, Peter Bernstein has the unique ability to synthesize intellectual history and economics with the theory and practice of investment management. Now, with classic titles such as Economist on Wall Street, A Primer on Money, Banking, and Gold, and The Price of Prosperity—which have forewords by financial luminaries and new introductions by the author—you can enjoy some of the best of Bernstein in his earlier Wall Street days.

With the proliferation of financial instruments, new areas of instability, and innovative capital market strategies, many economists and investors have lost sight of the fundamentals of the financial system—its strengths as well as its weaknesses. A Primer on Money, Banking, and Gold takes you back to the beginning and sorts out all the pieces.

Peter Bernstein skillfully addresses how and why commercial banks lend and invest, where money comes from, how it moves from hand to hand, and the critical role of interest rates. He explores the Federal Reserve System and the consequences of the Fed's actions on the overall economy. But this book is not just about the past. Bernstein's novel perspective on gold and the dollar is critical for today's decision makers, as he provides extensive views on the future of money, banking, and gold in the world economy.

This illuminating story about the heart of our economic system is essential reading at a time when developments in finance are more important than ever.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Substantially outdated
Comment: Prospective readers should note that this is not a new book. Rather, it's a repackaged reprint of one of Bernstein's earliest books (circa 1965). Fed Chairman Emeritus Paul Volker has written a shiny new introduction and Bernstein himself takes a few pages at the beginning to place his old ideas in historical context, but frankly the meat of the book is totally outdated. There is perhaps no area in economics that has seen more change over the past 40 years than monetary policy. Bernstein wrote this book before the demise of the gold standard, before stagflation, before the modern consensus on monetary policy. If you want to read Bernstein on gold, a much more contemporary treatment is presented in The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession (A caveat: I have not read that book yet, but include it only so the reader can be aware that there is an alternative.)

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