The reckoning : financial accountability and the rise and fall of nations / Jacob Soll.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Soll, Jacob, 1968- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Accounting--History.

Accounting.

Economic history.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (503 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Basic Books, [2014]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

For centuries, the importance of financial accounting has been well understood. Essential to building businesses, states, and even empires, accounting has also helped leaders measure their power and craft their policies. When practiced poorly or neglected, accounting has contributed to cycles of destruction, as the 2008 financial crisis has made all too clear. In The Reckoning, award-winning historian Jacob Soll shows how the use and misuse of financial bookkeeping has determined the fate of entire societies. In the right hands, accounting has created social stability, good gov

Contents:

Cover; Title Page; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Introduction; CHAPTER 1: A Short History of Early Accounting, Politics, and Accountability; CHAPTER 2: For God and Profit: The Books According to Saint Matthew; CHAPTER 3: Medici Magnificence: A Cautionary Tale; CHAPTER 4: The Mathematician, the Courtier, and the Emperor of the World; CHAPTER 5: The Dutch Audit; CHAPTER 6: The Accountant and the Sun King; CHAPTER 7: The First Bailout; CHAPTER 8: "Fame and Profit": Counting on the Wedgwood Vase; CHAPTER 9: Big Debts, Big Numbers, and the French Revolution; CHAPTER 10: "The Price of Liberty"

CHAPTER 11: RailroadedCHAPTER 12: The Dickens Dilemma; CHAPTER 13: Judgment Day; Conclusion; Acknowledgments; Notes; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-465-03663-5