1873

In "1873," Pulitzer Prize-winning author Liaquat Ahamed offers a gripping exploration of the first global financial calamity, centered around the influential Rothschild banking family during an era of unprecedented economic expansion in the 1850s and 1860s. As the global bond market fueled transformative investments, excessive speculation led to a catastrophic collapse in the early 1870s, resulting in widespread defaults and a reshaping of the global currency system. Ahamed’s narrative unveils the human and historical dimensions of this crisis, revealing its profound effects on global politics and the emergence of antisemitism amidst a backdrop of economic turmoil.