Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market

Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market by Walter Bagehot

This century-plus old description of the success of British bankers and fractional reserve banking still feels fresh today. Britain became the banker of the world and was able to provide financing for many large projects as well as the continued involvement in trade. Rather than a centralized banking authority, Britain had a various banks competing with each other. Even the bank of last resort, the Bank of England, was a private entity with a special "too good to fail" mandate. The author compares British banking to that of France that is controlled by the mandate of the government. France was not able to move as quickly or provide the same benefit as British banking.

As part of the discussion the author discusses some of the political issues of the day that related to banking. I suppose that would have been at the top of mind at the time, but today that is the one part that did not seem relevant. 

The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today

The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner

This book gave birth to the term "gilded age" to cover the last part of the 19th century. It was co-written by two authors and thus has a few distinct threads. At this time, everyone is out to get rich by whatever means possible. Speculation is the name of the game. The government was more a way of dispensing pork than actual governing. Washington D.C. gets especially pillared in the book. Who would dare think anything could be achieved by merrit? One girl tries to go to Washington to help get the government to invest in a plot of land she has. She lobbies hard and even murders a senator. She is later acquitted based on insanity, and then allowed to live her life. Another thread is about a man trying to make a fortune on a coal mine. Everyone likes him, but they just can't find it. Finally they give up and he works without pay with a loyalist before finally striking it rich.  While the plot gets a bit confusing, the satire is heavy hitting. Greed and corruption seem to hidden around every corner.

Around the World in 80 Days

Around the World in 80 Days adapted by Jules Verne, adapted by Anna Lea

I had a bit of trouble figuring out what this actually was. It credits an "adaptor", but not a translator. I'm assuming that this was adapted from some English translation of the original French. There were multiple characters and the pace was perfect.

Phileas Fogg is an eccentric British aristocrat. He places a bet that he can get around the world in the unheard time of 80 days. A new assistant, Jean Passepartout, happened to join him just before he makes this bet. They journey together to complete the quest. They have to deal with steamers, trains, and even elephant travel. Fogg is willing to throw vast sums at solutions due to the money that he has at stake. His assistant gets into a bit of trouble (for things such as not taking his shoes off at an Indian temple). They are also chased by police who mistake Fogg for a thief. They have many adventures, including the rescue of a woman from ritual suicide. They make it back in what they think is just a bit too late. Later they realize they forgot to take into account the date change and rush to make it back just in time. It is a fun adventure that has been well adapted to movies and other media.