You can choose the best book if youd prefer reading a book. Capitalists, con men, and the making of the united states kindle edition by mihm, stephen. Using an unconventional blend of historical analysis with masterful knowledge of global economics, nouriel roubini and stephen mihm, a journalist and professor of economic history, present a vital and timeless book that proves calamities to be not only predictable but also preventable and, with the right medicine, curable. Luck in america a meticulous and imaginative reconstruction of an entire counterfeit economy that intersected and overlapped with the legitimate economy. Stephen mihm, a nation of counterfeiters cameron blevins. Their success, stephen mihm reveals, is more than an entertaining tale of criminal enterprise. Readers will recognize the same getrichquick spirit that lives on in the speculative bubbles and confidence games of the twentyfirst century. In other case, little folks like to read book a nation of counterfeiters. A nation of counterfeiters by stephen mihm 1033 words. Jan 28, 2020 stephen mihm is the author of a nation of counterfeiters. A nation of counterfeiters and millions of other books are available for amazon. Capitalists, con men, and the making of the united states stephen mihm, author.
Capitalists, con men, and the making of the united states ebook. Mann, harvard law school with imaginative research and crystalline prose, stephen mihm casts unprecedented light on the confidence games at the heart of early american capitalism. Mihms book is a lucid history of counterfeiting in antebellum america, that dark arts golden age, so to speak. Capitalists, con men, and the making of the united states. Buy a nation of counterfeiters by stephen mihm from waterstones today.
Stephen mihm is the author of a nation of counterfeiters 3. Stephen kotkin, new york times a brilliant description of a time in american history that seems at once distant and familiar. The new york times business section recently took on stephen mihms a nation of counterfeiters. Stephen mihm takes us back to the screwball days between the american revolution and the civil war, when the dollar did not exist. It was an era when responsibility for the countrys currency remained in the hands of capitalists for whom making money was as much a literal as. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers all about a nation of counterfeiters. Stephen mihm he is the author of a nation of counterfeiters. A nation of counterfeiters is both well documented and well written narrative history that draws the reader along to new understanding and perspective on the nation s economy and banking system in the early history of the united states. Sep 01, 2007 an historian who can tell a story stephen mihm is a breath of fresh air. A crash course in the future of finance penguin press, 2010, which was named as one of the top ten books of 2010 by the new york times. In stephen mihms, a nation of counterfeiters, mihm weaves a historically based tale of how a shady lot of counterfeiters thrived under the american capitalist system, and then explains how the federal government effectively dismantled the archaic monetary system and in turn ended the counterfeit economy it sustained.
For mihm, a national currency served to weave the nation into a tighter and more cohesive whole. Sep 24, 2007 stephen mihm talked about his book a nation of counterfeiters. Capitalists, con men, and the making of the united states by stephen mihm is an attempt at studying the history of the american way of printing money. Click to read more about a nation of counterfeiters. Con men, and the making of the united states by university of georgia history professor stephen mihm. In stephen mihm s, a nation of counterfeiters, mihm weaves a historically based tale of how a shady lot of counterfeiters thrived under the american capitalist system, and then explains how the federal government effectively dismantled the archaic monetary system and in turn ended the counterfeit economy it sustained. Stephen mihms elegant study demonstrates that making money once had a more literal meaning, when thousands of banks printed their own currency notes and numerous counterfeiters profitably imitated them. In a nation of counterfeiters, stephen mihms relentless sleuthing and lively prose reanimate a world in which every dollar had to be carefully read. This engaging study explores the world of paper currency counterfeit ing in the united states from the revolutionary period to the civil war.
Stephen mihm teaches history at the university of georgia and is the author of a nation of counterfeiters. In stephen mihms engagingly written book, their shadowy identities and activities have for the first time been subjected to scholarly treatment. Stephen mihm, author of a nation of counterfeiters joshua r. Citations scbooks anationofcounterfeiterscapitalistsconmenandthemakingoftheunitedstates stephen mihm, assistant professor of history at the university of georgia, vividly describes the often fraudulent precivil war economy, when the federal government neither printed paper money nor regulated the regional banks that did. Stephen mihm is the author of a nation of counterfeiters. Capitalists, con men, and the making of the united states and, with nouriel roubini. A nation of counterfeiters stephen mihm harvard university press. Stephen mihm talked about his book a nation of counterfeiters.
Capitalists, con men, and the making of the united states, published by harvard university press. Greenberg skillfully provides a history of how everyone in the early american republic pushed, pondered, purloined, politicized, and polemicized the thousands of material objects that circulated as their money. The spuriousness of much of the money in circulation made it a rich era for counterfeiters, who, as mihm writes in this revelatory, entertaining book, enjoyed a status somewhere between that of. A nation of counterfeiters npr coverage of a nation of counterfeiters. Capitalists, con men, and the making of the united states mihm, stephen isbn. This chaos was a paradise for counterfeiters, and mihms. Aug 20, 2007 americas history of dubious credit stephen mihm, author of a nation of counterfeiters, argues that wall streets problems stemming from debt and money that was handed out too freely are. Listen to a short interview with stephen mihm host. Although we take it for granted, the dollar was not always sound. A crash course in the future of finance penguin press, 2010, which was named as one of the top ten books.
Mihm draws on a wealth of innovative primary historical materials to identify the names, locations, and business methods of those who made their livelihood within the counterfeit economy. As mihm carefully details in one of the books strongest chapters, bank note. This rogues gallery of forgers, coinshavers and engraversgonebad holds up a funhouse mirror to the entrepreneurial face of american moneymaking. This does not just include illegal printing in someones basement but it also includes banks when there was not a national currency. Mihms note on sources makes clear how difficult it was to piece this story together. Capitalists, con men, and the making of the united states, by stephen. Capitalists, con men, and the making of the united states, a book that takes us back to the screwball days between the american revolution and the civil war, when the dollar did not exist. Capitalists, con men, and the making of the united states mihm, stephen on.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Capitalists, con men, and the making of the united states by stephen mihm. Capitalists, con men, and the making of the united states and the coeditor, with katherine ott and david serlin, of artificial parts, practical lives. Stephen mihms elegant study demonstrates that making money once had a more literal meaning, when thousands of.
Well talk with author stephen mihm, whose new book is a nation of counterfeiters. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Stephen mihm describes a world of the postrevolutionary era and early 19th century that is surprisingly foreign. An associate history professor at the university of georgia, he details the flimflam artists who plied this trade. Counterfeiters flourished amid this anarchy, putting vast quantities of bogus bills into circulation. Net by jane knodell, department of economics, university of vermont. Jessica when they came out with the new money a couple of years ago, there were massive technological advancements in the bills in order to deter counterfeiting. Mihm shows how eventually the older monetary system was dismantled, along with the counterfeit economy it sustained. I suspect this would come as no surprise to stephen mihm, whose a nation of counterfeiters is a brilliant description of a timesheppard lees timein american history that seems at once. A nation of counterfeiters by stephen mihm waterstones. Stephen mihm, assistant professor of history at the university of georgia, has written a fascinating and original history of bank note counterfeiting in the antebellum u. This economic conundrum gave an army of counterfeiters bountiful opportunities to ply their trade.
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