His tale begins not, as would be popularly assumed, in the aftermath of Germany's political and military collapse in 1918 (by which point the mark had halved against the pound) but in the original decision to fund the war effort largely through debt-a decision with uncomfortable contemporary parallels (one of many in this book) tailor-made for today's end-timers.

It deals with the human side of inflation: why governments resort to it the dismal, corruptive pestilence it visits on their citizens the agonies of recovery and the dark, long-term legacy. Fergusson adds valuable nuance to a familiar story. When Money Dies is the classic history of these bizarre and frightening times. The death of the German mark (it took 20 of them to buy a British pound in 1914 but 310 billion in late 1923) plays a key part in the dark iconography of the 20th century: Images of kindling currency and economic chaos are an essential element in our understanding of the rise of Hitler. Americans accustomed to the dollars king status have no idea how quickly and brutally a currency can lose value, especially when war finance distorts the entire structure of a nations economy. Just another manifestation of the financial millenarianism now sweeping the land? Perhaps, but 'When Money Dies' remains a fascinating and disturbing book. Ryan McMaken joins the show to discuss Adam Fergussons seminal history of Weimar-era hyperinflation in Germany, When Money Dies. Now back in print, this once obscure book from 1975 has been selling briskly. There were (false) reports of kind words about it from Warren Buffett. Bibliographic information Title, When Money Dies: The Nightmare of Deficit Spending, Devaluation, and Hyperinflation in Weimar Germany Author, Adam Fergusson. In early 2010, Adam Fergusson's long-out-of-print volume was trading online for four-figure sums. It says something about present anxieties that a 35-year-old account of Weimar hyperinflation has come into vogue.

When Money Dies by Adam Fergusson