The authors (Messrs. Feinstein, Temin, and Toniolo) have written an extremely informative, quite well written, and very well referenced account of the economy of the world in the period between the two world wars. Obviously the authors put much work and professional expertise in writing this book. The authors untangle the story of how the economies of the world in this period slided into the Great Depression and how the slow recovery took place. The book is an excellent introduction, summary, and revelation of how of the economy operated in the inter world war time period.



There is the well documented information in this work. In particular the authors detail the baneful effect of the Gold Standard. The quick recovery of many economies from the sharp recessions right after World War I was greatly aided by the absence of the Gold Standard. And during the Great Depression the economies that left the Gold Standard almost invariably were the economies that recovered from the deflation, unemployment, and excess capacity of the depression. Moreover the authors detail the beginnings, rational, and operation of the Sterling Bloc during this period. To me this was most generally new material. And the authors detail the isolating effects of World War I on the economies of the various countries of the world. World War I in many respects broke up and destroyed the international market system that operated prior to the war. These economic and historical descriptions are only some of the vast amount of information and informative material in this book.



In sum this book is a very worthwhile read, particularly for persons who majored in or took courses on economics in college. The present economic downturn provides this book with even more relevance. By all means read this work.

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