Beggar Thy Neighbor: A History of Usury and Debt
"A compelling book not only for history buffs but also for financial market participants who will find that events today have a long history leading up to our current travails."—Henry Kaufman, author ofOn Money and Markets: A Wall Street Memoir"Charles R. Geisst takes us on a splendid tour of the law of usury from ancient times to the present. Along the way one encounters Cicero, Charlemagne, Shakespeare, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Michael Milken and many others in this engaging yet critical account of what may well be the oldest and most ubiquitous form of economic regulation. Highly recommended both for the lay reader interested in economic affairs and the academic specialist in money and banking."—Hugh Rockoff, Rutgers University"An engaging, comprehensive history of the concept of interest and usury."—Robert Wright, Augustana College, South Dakota