Book Review: The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Patrick Shrier

Niall Ferguson’s The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World, is one of the best economic histories I have read. It seeks to be a global history of money and does a good job of it. It is somewhat tilted towards Europe and Western countries but only because that is where the majority of financial innovation has come from, especially in the last 300-400 years.last 400 years.

What I found especially interesting were his explanations of the way sophisticated financial instruments actually work. It often seems as though investment and investing have a language specifically designed to confuse and confound the layman. Dr. Ferguson’s explanations of derivatives and other financial instruments were understandable and serve to somewhat demystify the world of finance. Of note also is the way in which he explains that these financial instruments are used to create wealth, with the emphasis on create. He perfectly explains how people like George Soros become billionaires without actually doing anything productive but rather by predicting which way the market will go and essentially betting they are right with other peoples money.

He also tackles entitlements in both Europe, Japan, and the US and providing an excellent anlaysis of the flaws in the current western model entitlement system. Perhaps the best line in the book is “Yet welfare reform is coming to North America, whether anyone wants it or not.” He then goes on to explain in detail why this is so.

The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World, is not a work of political science though. Ferguson lets his own opinion shine through at times but by and large what he is presenting here is exactly as described: A history of the development and use of money and in the end an explanation of why we cannot get away from it even though there are many groups on the left and right that would love to see that. Ferguson is right when he claims that no one has yet come up with a more efficient way of moving capital to where it can be used than money. This work explains all of that and also how unscrupulous people have learned to manipulate the system that makes the modern world move.

This is another outstanding book by Niall Ferguson and nothing less than what I expected from someone who I have come to believe is perhaps one of the most balanced and perceptive historians writing today. I have not yet read a book by Dr. Ferguson that was not a joy to read and even if I do not agree with everything he says, his works are always thought provoking, The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World is no exception. I highly recommend this book.

Book Review: The Last Full Measure: How Soldiers Die in Battle by Michael Stephenson

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Patrick Shrier

[FULL DISCLOSURE: I received my copy of this book free from the publisher for purposes of reviewing it. I was not paid for this review and the opinion expressed is purely my own]

Michael Stephenson’s work The Last Full Measure: How Soldiers Die in Battle follows somewhat in the tradition of classics such a Keegan’s The Face of Battle and Victor David Hanson’s The Western Way of War. Where it differs from these two works as that while Keegan and Hanson focus on specific battles or time periods this book aims to be a more general description of the experience of combat throughout recorded history. In that, the book is amazingly successful. The author has produced a volume that does the job of bringing home te reality of warfare to those who have never experienced it. What I finds even more refreshing is that he does without weighing the book down with moral judgements on the rightness or wrongness of war itself, instead he accepts the objective reality that war happens and goes about the business of explaining what it is like.

It is written in an easy free-flowing style that is almost a pleasure to read and the text is organized in such a way that it is also compelling to read. I found myself making excuses to my wife to keep reading to the end of the chapter before I did something else. The descriptions of combat and death, ultimately this book is about violent death, ring true. I was struck in particular by the realism of the combat descriptions in the section on the Iraq war. On page 361 he talks about the US Marines “Pine Box Rule” in which if someone has to go home in a pine box, it is not going to be Marines. In my own experience in Iraq in 2004 my unit had a similar rule except we called it doing the “Death Blossom” when we came under enemy fire. If his descriptions of combat and death hold as true to reality throughout the rest of the book as they do for modern war, and I have no reason, to think they don’t, then Mr. Stephenson has produced what should be an instant classic. It should also make its way to the official reading lists of all the services, especially the US Army and Marines.

At 406 pages of text the book is not too long for the interested layman and includes an index, extensive notes, and a truly impressive bibliography that together amount to 54 pages alone. The book is organized into eight thematic, chronological chapters that cover warfare from the Ancient World to the modern wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with an appendix discussing the state of military medicine through time. The only very minor criticism I could have for this book is that it is Western Centric in focus, that is true of much western scholarship though and this book makes no claim to universal history.

As a combat veteran myself, I have said for years in private conversation and on some public forums that no one who has not been in combat can possibly grasp what it is like, this work goes a long way to roving me wrong. Michael Stephenson comes as close to describing the reality of combat as I have ever read from a non-combat vet. This objective and fair description of death in battle should be on the shelf of every military historian, whether they are a veteran or not. Anyone who wants to know what combat is like without putting their own skin on the line should read this book. If nothing else, they will gain a better understanding of the sacrifices made by those who don the uniform of their country and go forth to do battle. This is a good description of what George Orwell’s “rough men” go through to allow their countrymen to sleep safe at home.An outstanding book that is sure to remain the standard in its niche for years to come.

The Marian Legion

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Patrick Shrier

I haven’t touched on anything about antiquity for a while so I thought I would put this up as I have been thinking about this for the last week or two. This is the Marian Legion or the Reforms of Marius, whichever you choose to call it.

These reforms are important because they set the stage for the Legion of the period of the Civil War and early Imperium, especially the time of the Pax Romana. These reforms are probably not a direct result of the genius of Gaius Marius, he just gets credit for implementing them. That being said, he is the one who implemented them and turned the Roman Army into a professional force that essentially defeated all comers for the next 300-400 years. They are therefore worth discussing.

The Marian Reforms can essentially be broken down into two types: 1. Administrative and 2. Operational. They are synergistic reforms in that administrative changes affected operations and in fact at some level were driven by them. The most important administrative changes were the elimination of the land requirement and substitution of a citizenship requirement for service and most importantly in my opinion, the state was now responsible for providing uniform equipment. The operational changes were the introduction of the Legionary Eagle, the redesigned pilum, and the elimination of the baggage train.

First let’s discuss administrative changes. The elimination of a land requirement and substitution of a citizenship requirement meant that the army could be substantially enlarged because there was a large number citizens who lived in the city of Rome but owned no land. This was a huge departure from former practice. This actually achieved two things; one, as previously stated it allowed for a huge expansion in the size of the army, secondly it gave the poor in Rome a stake in the success of the Republic. This last part was no small accomplishment The second administrative change was that the state took on the responsibility for providing the Legionnaire’s equipment. his also accomplished two things. The first thing this accomplished was that along with the citizenship requirement for service meant that the huge number of potential recruit could be equipped. Before this change the individual was responsible for providing their own equipment and this was not a minor expense. I heave read some estimates that a Legionnaires equipment could cost the equivalent of a year’s wages. This seems fairly reasonable to me if you consider that a modern American soldier’s equipment runs in the neighborhood of $40-50,000. Eliminating this burden allowed more soldiers to be recruited. The second and more important change was that it allowed for the standardization of equipment. This not only brought down costs it also meant that units were more uniform and thus their capabilities became more of a known factor.

Operational changes were at least as important as the administrative changes the Legions underwent. The introduction of the Eagle, the pilum, and elimination of the legionary baggage train made huge changes.

Examples of Legionary Eagles

First, the introduction of the Legionary Eagle. The Eagle was the standard of the Legion and with its introduction the Legions became permananetn formations and not transitory ones that were raised and disbanded with every campaigning season as had previously been the practice. This gave individual legions a history and traditions. The Eagle was the personification of this history and tradition. It helped improve that tenuous concept known as Esprit d’Corps. It helped soldiers identify with their unit and made them want to fight hard to uphold the units traditions. It also served as a rallying point for the Legion in Battle. The loss of an eagle was considered one of the most shameful things that could happen to a unit. Great deeds of heroism were done to protect the Eagle. In many ways the Eagle became the unit, it was the manifestation that the unit itself had a life and would continue. The greatest disgrace that could occur was for a Legion to lose it’s Eagle, this was even worse than defeat. A unit could be defeated in honorable battle but it was the height of shame when a unit lost it’s Eagle.

Roman Pilums

The introduction of the Pilum was another of the Marian reforms. It is difficult for a modern reader to understand the significance of this change. The Pilum was a spear with some special design elements. Most importantly, it incorporated a semi-mobile shaft. It had an articulated head constructed such that when it impacted an enemy shield part sheared off precluding the enemy from throwing it back at the Romans. There were two pegs connecting the head of the spear to the shaft. One was iron while the other was wooden. When the Pilum impacted an enemy shield the wooden peg would break allowing the spear to pivot on the fulcrum of the iron peg. this meant the the shield was not only useless to be thrown back at the Romans but further it meant that the enemy shield itself became too heavy and unwieldy for use thus forcing them to discard their shield because of the added unbalanced weight added to it. The loss of their shield meant that enemy troops were that much less protected once the Legionnaire got into melee range. Additionally, the fact that the Pilum beacme the standard Legion stand-off weapon meant that drill in its use could be added to the standard training regimen of the legion. This not only simplified legion training it meant that if a legionnaire was transferred from one Legion to another he did not have to relearn how to employ a new weapon that was not used in the Legion from which he came.

The last, and one of the most important changes was the elimination of the Legions baggage train. To really understand the significance of this change it is necessary to understand the effect of a baggage train on ancient armies. Typically, armies of the ancient world had a baggage train. This was not just baggage and equipment for the troops, often, even most of the time, the baggage train was full of what are known as camp followers. This was a large group of people from families of the soldiers to suttlers, merchants, widows and orphans, and prostitutes. This group could not move as fast as an army unencumbered because it included wagons as well. Ancient wagons were generally drawn by Oxen and not horses, and oxen are slow. The Roman elimination of the baggage train increased he strategic and operational speed of the Roman Legions.

Legionary Backpack of the time of Marius

To put it bluntly, with a baggage train an army could march on the order of 5-8 miles per day; without a baggage train they could make 20-25 miles per day or almost 4 times as fast. To accomplish this Marius made each Legionnaire carry a backpack with the essentials he would need while on the march. This backpack weighed up to 90 pounds and the legionary was expected to march 20 miles per day carrying it. This pack led to the nickname for the troops of Marius’ Mules.

The Legionaries carried not just food but also equipment to fortify their camp at the end of each day’s march. The fact that they could make 20 miles per day meant that the Roman army had an operational mobility that few of their enemies could match. This let them surprise their enemies by getting to places much faster than any of them thought possible and surprise is one of the most decisive things in warfare.

The various reforms of the Roman army implemented by Marius turned the Roman army from a formidable, seasonal force to a year round, professional force that proved to be virtually unbeatable by it’s enemies. These reforms wrought changes in the Roman ay f war comparable to those brought about by the introduction of the internal combustion engine in the early 20th cnetury. The reforms were standardized and modified very little until relatively late in the Imperial period. They let the Romans outfight and outmarch their opponents an just about every battlefield for almost 500 years. It is virtually impossible to understand Roman military success without understanding the definitive changes in military practice brought about by the Marian Reforms of the Roman Army.

Further Reading: Marian Reforms, Clio Article, From Republic to Empire: How Revolutionary were the Reforms of Gaius Marius.

Battles and Book Reviews.

Book Review: The Anabasis by Xenophon

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Patrick Shrier

I read part of this work in High School over twenty years ago and decided a few weeks ago to finish reading it. Now that I am done, I wonder why I waited so long. The book was written by Xenophon, and ancient Greek soldier and general, in the late 4th Century BC.

Xenophon’s account in The Anabasis is one of the first true (in several senses of the word) adventure stories to be transmitted from antiquity. There is as much adventure here as will be found in any modern day work of fiction. One of the things that makes this book so great is that as I was reading the book it was constantly in the back of my mind that these events really happened. The book is part adventure and part autobiography told from the 3rd person.

The background is that in 402 B.C. Cyrus the Younger of Persia hired an army of Greek mercenaries to help him overthrow his brother Artaxerxes II, the legitimate ruler of the Persian Empire. Everything went swimmingly until Cyrus was killed in battle. The Greek army hired by Cyrus was in a tight position, Artaxerxes did not have the force to crush without taking unacceptable casualties but he equally did not want them to escape. The Persian answer was to feign letting the Greeks start on their way home providing them provisions, guides, and quarters along the way. The the Persians tricked the Greek generals into attending a dinner under flag of truce and had all the Greek generals executed.

It is at this point that Xenophon steps forward and is elected general and co-leader of the remaining Greeks. The rest of the story is a recounting of the many trials and tribulations the Greek army of Ten Thousand makes its way home fighting numerous battles, encountering hostile people, terrain, and weather.

The Route of Xenophons March Up Country

The only complaint, if complaint it can be called, is that the speeches ascribed to various characters are not 100% accurate. This is true of many ancient Greek and Roman writers. What they did was to invent a speech that in its essentials expressed the same message as the actual speech did, perhaps they dressed it up a little. The ancient historians did not have a problem with this practice at all and just considered it god history, that is not true of modern historical practice.

In summation, if anyone would like to read the ancients and does not know where to start, The Anabasisis a good place to start. It is a great story and Xenophon’s prose is concise enough to not bore the casual reader.

Book Review: Julius Caesar: Lessons in Leadership from the Great Conqueror by Bill Yenne

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Patrick Shrier

[FULL DISCLOSURE: I received my copy of this book free from the publisher. I was not paid for this review and the opinion expressed is purely my own]

I am someone who loves the ancients and loves reading the their stories. That being said, I am much more likely to read Caesar’s Commentaries or Plutarch’s Life of Caesar than a modern day biography derived from those sources. In fact, I have read all those ancient works, most in both English and the original Latin. This book was a pleasure to read anyway. Bill Yenne has put together a comprehensive account of Caesar’s life that someone unfamiliar with Caesar’s exploits can enjoy. The book is separated into twenty thematic chapters with epilogue, source note, and index. It is not a large book at only 193 pages but the author manages to pack everything he needs into those pages.

The book begins with an account of what we know of Caesar’s birth and early life and segues easily into the meat of the story, his exploits in Gaul and the Civil War. Bill Yenne is at his best when describing the military campaigns of Caesar. he brings the battles alive and his descriptions are vivid enough that the reader can form a mind’s eye picture of the terrain. He describes the political relationships between Caesar and the various Germanic and Gallic tribes well. He also does an excellent job of describing the course of the Civil War. The book is really more of a straightforward narrative of the events of Caesar’s life and he does not attempt to analyze Caesar’s actions for fault, that type of analysis he leaves to the reader, which very refreshing from my perspective.

I did not really see where the subtitle of the book came in as I was reading it. It was actually only after I finished the book that it hit me. As Mr. Yenne narrates the story he throws in asides about modern events that occurred in the areas where Caesar campaigned. The vast majority of these asides relate to the allied campaign in France in World War II but he does mention World War I a time or two. Generally he relates the differences between the modern campaign and the way in which Caesar campaigned there. I did not really feel that there were a lot of lessons pointed out for modern military leaders from Caesar’s campaigns or actions, at least nothing explicitly pointed out as such. That lack does not detract from the book itself though, it can stand perfectly alone as a biography of one of the greatest military leaders of all time.

The chapters flow easily from one to the other and the index is useful and actually more comprehensive than I expected it to be. The source note is just that, a note explaining the major sources he used in writing the book. I am sure it is not everything he consulted and I would much rather see a bibliography than source note, that is a minor complaint though as this book is meant for the lay market and not academia or college students. The only other complaint I have is the lack of citations but that is also probably the latent academic in me complaining and does not really detract from the quality of the book.

As a biography of Julius Caesar for people who are not historians, Bill Yenne has produced an excellent book. One of the best aspects of this book is that he relied on the ancient writers who were closer to the events for sources. He also writes in a clear, easy to understand style that makes some of the complex events of Caesar’s life easy to understand. All in all this is an excellent book and I recommend it to anyone with a casual interest in antiquity or even those wishing to reacquaint themselves with the life of Caesar.