Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century » (Reprint)

Jeffry A. Frieden teaches at Harvard University. He is the author of Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century, and the co-author of Lost Decades: The Making of America’s Debt Crisis and the Long Recovery.

"Magisterial history...one of the most comprehensive histories of modern capitalism yet written."—New York Times Book Review

The New York Times - Michael Hirsh

Frieden's 500-plus-page book can be ponderous to read, but it is one of the most comprehensive histories of modern capitalism yet written. He provides a clear, detailed account of the rise and fall of the gold-standard era, especially its peak years from 1896 to 1914, and of the post-World War II Bretton Woods agreements, which gave national economies some control over short-term capital flows…Frieden also argues that for all the strains created by today's global capitalism, it is still the least worst system out there.