"An amazingly detailed and thoroughly readable account of the long march to the Euro. This is the stuff of a political thriller: the deal-making behind a currency constructed not just as a financial instrument but also as a way of overcoming centuries of conflict. Anyone interested in European politics and economics, as well as Europe''s place in the wider world, would enjoy it."- George Soros

This book is the first comprehensive political and economic account of the birth and development of the Euro. Today the Euro is the supranational currency for sixteen European countries and the world’s second-largest reserve currency. David Marsh tells the story of the rivalries, intrigues, and deal making that brought about a currency for Europe, and he analyzes the achievements and shortcomings of its first decade of existence.

While the Euro represents a remarkable triumph of political will, great pressures are building on the single currency. Drawing on more than 100 interviews with leading figures associated with the Euro, and scores of secret documents from international archives, Marsh underscores the Euro’s importance for the global economy, in particular for U.S. and British economic and political agendas.

Hidden facts and fresh insights from The Euro:

--How the legacy of France and Germany’s tortuous relations affects the Euro

--Why the United Kingdom is unlikely to accept the Euro before 2025

--The impact on the Euro of the U.S. credit crisis

--How the Euro has rebounded against the aspirations of its founders

--How Italy and Spain have massively lost competitiveness

--Why radical changes must be adopted to prevent a European upheaval

About the Author

Download Sample Chapter: The Euro: The Politics of the New Global Currency (PDF format)

Hardcover: 352 pages
Author: David Marsh
Publisher: Yale University Press (May 5, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0300127308
ISBN-13: 978-0300127300

INTRODUCTION: THE STORY OF THE EURO

The Euro, probably more than any other currency, represents the mutual confidence at the heart of our community. It is the first currency that has not only severed its link to gold, but also its link to the nation-state.
Wim Duisenberg, President, European Central Bank, 2002

The Euro, according to its supporters – and they abound in their millions, within and beyond Europe – is one of the Old Continent’s brightest and grandest success stories. The supranational money at the heart of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) launched in 1999 has become the second most important international currency after the US dollar – and one day could supersede it.

The European single currency, with a unified monetary and interest rate policy across the sixteen-country EMU area, is breaking down barriers between people, companies and markets – a central component of post-Cold War Europe following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany. ...

Visit The Euro: The Politics of the New Global Currency London and Oxford Group website

 Hidden facts and fresh insights from The Euro:
 The book provides fresh insights into the behind-the-scenes Franco-German-British wrangling over European currency management – including the drama of Black Wednesday in 1992 when Britain left the ERM

Marsh examines the European Central Bank, the Euro’s stability after the credit crisis, the prospects for Euro expansion – and the chances that it could break up. He concludes that, in view of Britain’s monetary history and unusual uncertainties about the future,  the UK will not join the Euro at least until 2025

The book includes more than 100 interviews with personalities behind the Euro’s birth - including 15 past and present Finance Ministers, 13 Central Bank Governors, 10 Prime Ministers, 3 Foreign Ministers and 1 President

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