First published in 1983, this book provides a comprehensive view of gold and gold trading in its many facets, and identifies those sources of information that are important for an understanding of the world’s gold markets. The author looks first at gold’s changing role since 1960; in particular, the change from the fixed price to the present free market determination of price. The different forms the demand for gold takes – bullion, paper or in fabricated forms such as jewellery – are explained in detail. This is followed by an analysis of the supply side – new gold production and the circulation of existing old gold. The survey concludes with an assessment of the gold market and of gold prices now and in the future.
First published in 1999, this book examines the construction of new political, economic and mental borders in post-Cold War Europe. Various national and regional settings are analyzed along the old East-West divide. In post-Cold War Europe the East-West divide no longer exists in the form of the clear-cut Iron Curtain, separating two security blocs, two politico-economic systems, and two ideologically and culturally distinct worlds. Still, it remains clearly discernible, both in the form of unrelenting politico-cultural differences and as an economic Golden Curtain. At the same time, a more complicated system of intersecting political, economic and mental borders keeps developing. Today, there are various scales of interaction, which produce distinctive national, regional and local experiences of borders. In this book, the construction of new political, economic and mental borders is analysed by specialists from both sides of the former East-West divide. The future of European borders is discussed in various national and regional settings, from the Barents Region in the North to the Old Habsburgian lands in 'Mitteleuropa'.
First published in 1932, this book discusses the suspension of the gold standard in Britain, and the economic events surrounding September 1931. It argues that despite specific errors made by individuals, groups, and individual nations, the attempts to save the pound had little chance of recovery. Indeed, years before its collapse, powerful, fundamental factors had been eroding its stability. Hence, the author does not entirely blame the influence of French policy, or Great Britain’s political and economic decline after the war, but states that the collapse of sterling was co-ordinated by several factors of importance.
First published in 1936, this book gives the reader an insight into the tendencies and spirit of the monetary reform movement as a whole, as accomplished or proposed since the First World War. The author marks the consideration of the overall reform as being more important than specifically looking at the actual proposals and measures involved, and the views he attributes to the various monetary reform schools are therefore composite views of the various factions of those schools. As a comparatively recent convert to the idea of monetary reform, at the time of writing, the author offers a balanced view of the subject as he also has extensive experience of the ideas of the orthodox monetary system. However, he does not believe that monetary reform alone can achieve the desired end without considerable economic planning. Indeed, he suggests that the monetary reform movement he discusses desperately needs to adopt a broader perspective and thus, he suggests a compromise.
In this title, first published in 1978, Sir Arthur Lewis considers the development of the international economy in the forty years leading up to the First World War, with the adoption of the gold standard, a rapid growth in world trade, the opening up of the continents by the railways, vast emigration from Europe, India and China, and large-scale international investment. The book contrasts the relationship between prices, industrial fluctuations, agricultural output, and the stock of monetary gold, considering both the varying patterns of leading economies and then their net combined effect on the rest of the world. This is history which illuminates the contemporary economic climate in which it was written but also casts light upon our current economic crisis.
Written during the early 1920s, at a time when Europe was still recovering from the catastrophe of the First World War, L.V. Birck’s The Scourge of Europe examines the economic issues surrounding the existence of public debt, its history, and possible approaches to problems associated with public debt as they were being pursued by the great powers of the time. Birck’s analysis contains a rigorous theoretical exposition and explanation of public debt as it was understood in the crucial period leading up to the Great Depression. This is then followed by an insightful exploration of the role of public debt in European financial and economic history. Finally, some reflections on the policies of England, the United States, France and Germany in the latter part of the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries are included. This book will appeal to economic and financial historians, as well as to those generally interested in European policies towards debt from the Middle Ages to modern times.
When most lesbians had to hide, how did they find one another? Were the bars of the 1940s and 1950s more fun than the bars today? Did Black and white lesbians socialize together? Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold is a ground-breaking account of the growth of the lesbian community in Buffalo, New York from the mid-1930s to the early 1960s Drawing on oral histories collected from 45 women, it is the first comprehensive history of a working-class lesbian community. These poignant and complex stories provide a new look at Black and white working-class lesbians as powerful agents of historical change. Their creativity and resilience under oppressive circumstances constructed a better life for all lesbians and expanded possibilities for all women. Based on 13 years of research, Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold ranges over topics including sex, relationships, coming out, butch-fem roles, motherhood, aging, racism, work, oppression, and pride. Kennedy and Davis provide a unique insider's perspective on butch-fem culture and trace the roots of gay and lesbian liberation to the determined resistance of working-class lesbians. The book begins by focusing on the growth and development of community, culture, and consciousness in the bars and open house parties of the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. It goes on to explore the code of personal behavior and social imperative in butch-fem culture, centering on dress, mannerisms, and gendered sexuality. Finally the book examines serial monogamy, the social forces which shaped love and break-ups, and the changing nature and content of lesbian identity. Capturing the full complexity of lesbian culture, this outstanding book includes extensive quotes from narrators that make every topic a living document, a composite picture of the lives of real people fighting for respect and for a place that would be safe for their love.
Rome and the Friendly King, first published in 1984, offers a functional definition of what is usually called client kingship – to show what a client king (or ‘friendly king’, to use the Roman term) was in practice. Each aspect of this complex role is examined over a period of six centuries: the making of a king; exposure to Roman institutions and individuals; formal recognition as a friendly ruler. Professor Braund shows how the king’s power related to Roman authority, and to his subjects. The role of Romans in royal wills, principally as recipients of bequests, is also examined, and it is also shown how some kings were assimilated completely into Roman society to become senators in their own right. In conclusion, Professor Braund considers the ways in which both sides benefited from client kingship and, in doing so, helps to explain the persistent use of such relationships throughout history.
First published in 2000, Trade, Travel, and Exploration: An Encyclopedia covers the people, places, technologies, and intellectual concepts that contributed to trade, travel and exploration during the Middle Ages, from the years C.E. 525 to 1492. This comprehensive reference work contains entries on a large number of subjects, including familiar topics such as the voyages of Columbus and Marco Polo, and also information that is more difficult to find, for example, the traditions of travel among Muslim women and the influence of Viking travel on navigation and geographical knowledge. Bringing together more than 175 scholars from a variety of disciplines, it minimizes Eurocentric bias and offers extensive coverage of such topics as travel within Inner Asia, Mongol society, and the spread of Buddhism. Including an extensive map program and more than 125 illustrations, as well as bibliographies, a comprehensive index and "see also" references, Medieval Trade, Travel, and Exploration is a valuable reference guide for undergraduate and graduate students, scholars and also the general reader.
