A riveting history of raw capitalism that exposes the unscrupulousness at its heart
Vice is endemic to Western capitalism, according to this fascinating, wildly entertaining, often startling history of modern finance. Ian Klaus's Forging Capitalism demonstrates how international financial affairs in the nineteenth century were conducted not only by gentlemen as a noble pursuit but also by connivers, thieves, swindlers, and frauds who believed that no risk was too great and no scheme too outrageous if the monetary reward was substantial enough. Taken together, the grand...

In the spring of 2005, Klaus traveled from Turkey to Salahaddin University in Arbil, the largest city in Iraqi Kurdistan. This is his poignant, funny, and uplifting story of the semester he spent there teaching U.S. history and English in the thick of the war.