Kwasi Kwarteng – författare

Britain is at a cross-roads; from the economy, to the education system, to social mobility, Britain must learn the rules of the 21st century, or face a slide into mediocrity. Brittania Unchained travels around the world, exploring the nations that are triumphing in this new age, seeking lessons Britain must implement to carve out a bright future.

Britain is at a cross-roads; from the economy, to the education system, to social mobility, Britain must learn the rules of the 21st century, or face a slide into mediocrity. Brittania Unchained travels around the world, exploring the nations that are triumphing in this new age, seeking lessons Britain must implement to carve out a bright future.

The ghosts of the British Empire continue to haunt today''s international scene and many of the problems faced by the Empire have still not been resolved. In Iraq, Kashmir, Burma, Sudan, Nigeria and Hong Kong, new difficulties, resulting from British imperialism, have arisen and continue to baffle politicians and diplomats. This powerful book addresses the realities of the British Empire from its inception to its demise, skewering fantasies of its glory and cataloguing both the inadequacies of its ideals and the short-termism of its actions.

_______________'Enormously entertaining' - Sunday Times'Exhaustive and convincingly argued' - Observer'A complicated story well told, from which financial lessons emerge naturally' - Financial Times_______________A unique look at the financial world and its troubled history, from the disaster that befell Spain in the sixteenth century to the 2008 global financial crisisIn the sixteenth century, Spanish conquistadors discovered the New World. The vast quantities of gold and silver would make their country rich, yet the new wealth, which was plunged into multiple wars, would eventually lead to the economic ruin of their empire. Here, historian and politician Kwasi Kwarteng shows that this moment in world history has been echoed many times, from the French Revolution to both World Wars, right up to the present day, when our own financial crisis saw many of our great nations slip into financial trouble. Kwarteng reveals a pattern of war-waging, financial debt and fluctuations between paper money and the gold standard, and creates a compelling study of the powerful relationship that has shaped the world as we know it, that between war and gold._______________'Searing ... Few stones are left unlifted in this study, the subtitle of which gives every clue as to its ambition' - Independent

_______________''Enormously entertaining'' - Sunday Times''Exhaustive and convincingly argued'' - Observer''A complicated story well told, from which financial lessons emerge naturally'' - Financial Times_______________A unique look at the financial world and its troubled history, from the disaster that befell Spain in the sixteenth century to the 2008 global financial crisisIn the sixteenth century, Spanish conquistadors discovered the New World. The vast quantities of gold and silver would make their country rich, yet the new wealth, which was plunged into multiple wars, would eventually lead to the economic ruin of their empire. Here, historian and politician Kwasi Kwarteng shows that this moment in world history has been echoed many times, from the French Revolution to both World Wars, right up to the present day, when our own financial crisis saw many of our great nations slip into financial trouble. Kwarteng reveals a pattern of war-waging, financial debt and fluctuations between paper money and the gold standard, and creates a compelling study of the powerful relationship that has shaped the world as we know it, that between war and gold._______________''Searing ... Few stones are left unlifted in this study, the subtitle of which gives every clue as to its ambition'' - Independent

_______________''The author brings to this detailed study of the first six months of Margaret Thatcher''s premiership invaluable political experience and a first-rate analytical mind'' - Mail on Sunday_______________A fascinating examination of the leadership of Britain''s most controversial post-war Prime Minister from historian and politician Kwasi KwartengMargaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister in 1979, the first woman to hold the position, and the first woman in the Western world to lead a nation. Within two years she was beset by troubles, and it seemed her historic government would be short-lived. In 1981, unemployment had risen to levels not seen since the 1930s and public finances foundered in their worst state since 1945. The ''no hope'' budget delivered by Chancellor Geoffrey Howe in March marked the beginning of a six-month period which witnessed pressures in Northern Ireland, hunger strikes, urban riots and unprecedented unrest within the Conservative Party. By the time of the Cabinet reshuffle of 14 September, in which mutinous grandees were removed, Thatcher had firmly reasserted her authority. This extraordinary six-month period would come to define the Conservative Party''s most successful and divisive modern figure: to her detractors a harsh, uncaring and dogmatic leader who made the country a more unequal, materialistic and brutal place; to her supporters, the saviour of a Britain which was becoming an ungovernable socialist state. The 1983 general election would prove a triumph. Kwasi Kwarteng here captures this shopkeeper''s daughter''s unique leadership qualities – from her pulpit style and New Testament imagery to her emphasis on personal moral responsibility – in some of the most adverse conditions facing any statesman in modern peacetime to offer a compelling study of arguably the most significant six months in British post-war history.

Esta no es una crónica de la crisis financiera más reciente (aunque también), ni del saqueo de los conquistadores españoles en América (que en el libro se relata), ni de cómo llegó y se fue el patrón oro, o por qué se crearon el Fondo Monetario Internacional y el Banco Mundial (¿le dice algo "Bretton Woods"?), ni siquiera de las grandes turbulencias financieras desde la Depresión hasta la creación del euro (con sus protagonistas y avatares). Esto es una historia del dinero. Del oro, del papel, del paso de uno a otro, de ese complicado ente que llamamos "economía" y de su relación con la caída de los imperios (financieros o de los otros).Y, como en todos los grandes libros, aquí se descubre un patrón: una línea de continuidad entre guerras, deudas y fluctuaciones. Entre formas de pagar, de pedir prestado, de financiarse y de invertir. Una historia que necesita leer todo el que tenga una cuenta en un banco.