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The Ascent Of Money [DVD] [2008]

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List Price: £19.99 Amazon UK Price: £7.98 Released: 2008-12-15 Rating: More Details: The Ascent Of Money [DVD] [2008] The Ascent Of Money [DVD] [2008] @Amazon The Ascent Of Money [DVD] [2008] @aStore

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Customer Reviews:
Great coverage, attention grabbing matierla, engaging presentation
Great viewing. Whether you want detailed information - or simply to hone up on the broad brush history of money and teh evolution of financial markets, Ascent of Money has it all. Ideal teachign tool too. A strong recommednation.

Great!!!
I had been long wondering about the history of the complex financial markets that we have around the globe today. This documentry definately provides answers to some of the crucial questions and positions you to explore further independently if you are willing to!!!

the ascent of money
this film was shown on american public television stations in chunks of one hour each

i bought the video after seeing most of the programmes

it traces the importance of money and financial instruments from early beginings to the recent credit crisis in poular press style with lots of scandal, war, hyper speculation frequently followed by massive busts

although the subject is serious the history is lightened up and moved along by the pace of narrative and the behaviour of individuals and institutions that affected the living standards of many

Very good series, but come to your own conclusions
This is a very good series overall. The coverage of topics is good, Niall Ferguson is indeed an amiable presenter and the great enthusiasm he displays for his subject is unmistakable.

The subject content is not something which is always easily digestible and, unless you are already an expert, if you want to extract the most from these programmes you will have to replay and study them. The information is certainly there, but the pace sometimes changes rapidly, and the danger is that the viewer will assimilate selectively. For example, I showed some of it to a group of (economics) students; each had only a partial recollection, and then of different things.

It is also important to remember that this is only one man's interpretation. No mention was made of the importance of the London goldsmiths, for example, with their contribution to the UK's financial system (notes), and occasionally emphasis on particular aspects can be misleading. At a trivial end, for instance, to conclude that the demise of the Spanish Empire was due to inflation tends to ignore a host of other factors (!) and, more seriously, the presenter tends to put the blame for the current recession (2007-9) entirely on the shoulders of banks. True, they have a lot to answer for, but there is an argument that governments, and to an extent individuals, played a part in it too (whether you agree with that is another matter; it would have been nice to have had both sides presented).

I actually found the excellent series by Evan Davis (The City Uncovered, which was shown a short time after this) to be a better and simpler introduction, though it did not cover as much ground.

Nevertheless, there is much to commend this series and, despite the niggles, well worth 5 stars. It will be one I will refer to often in the future.

I can't play this on my system, so someday I'll sell it.
I was errant in purchasing this product without first thoroughly researching whether or not I could play it in the US. Because I opened the purchase, I could not return it. So I'm stuck with it. Considering the subject matter, it's all rather ironic, isn't it?
Post Script: How can I review that which I haven't seen? I'm compelled to render a falsehood just to submit your requested review...

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the ascent of money [uk import] für jetzt 27.99 euro
the ascent of money [uk import] billiger geworden am: 31.05.2009 um 17:48:11 uhr jetzt wieder für 27.99 euro erhältlich. sie sparen 1.00 euro (3.45 %).
http://www.preismitteilung.de/The-Ascent-Of-Money-UK-Import/de/B001KN8WEW

the ascent of money [dvd] [2008] £12.98 -> £7.98
amazon price for the ascent of money [dvd] [2008]: £7.98 - date: 08/26/2009 05:23.
http://www.amapsys.co.uk/dvd-info-B001KN8WEW-The_Ascent_Of_Money_(DVD)_(2008).htm