popes and bankers - Jack Cashill

Jack Cashill looks at credit and debt throughout history in his book Popes and Bankers: A Cultural History of Credit & Debt, from Aristotle to AIG. Cashill brings a helpful perspective to major worldwide financial events leading to recent current financial issues.

Banking and bankers is typically a confidential business that deals with money, and historically with corruption, laundering, theft, lying, cheating, and worse. Cashill tells the cultural history of money from the Middle Age to today, and from Dante’s Inferno to the IRS.

I am not a financial person, however, finances affect us all, and we should be aware of some of the key trends and influences. Popes and Bankers is not a light read, but neither is it so bogged down with technical jargon that it becomes an obstacle. The whole approach is made considerably easier to read because of the way that Cashill weaves the history of credit and debt into both the history of the day as well as its impact on our western culture today. The book is well referenced for those wanting to dig a little deeper.

Would I recommend this book?
If you like to read historical books and are not overwhelmed by lots of data, go for it. If you want an easy read like in a weekend or so, this is not the book.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers
as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program.
I was not required to write a positive review.
The opinions I have expressed are my own.