Niall Ferguson Popular Books
Niall Ferguson Biography & Facts
Niall Campbell Ferguson FRSE (; born 18 April 1964) is a Scottish–American historian who is the Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University. Previously, he was a professor at Harvard University, the London School of Economics, New York University, a visiting professor at the New College of the Humanities, and a senior research fellow at Jesus College, Oxford. Ferguson writes and lectures on international history, economic history, financial history and the history of the British Empire and American imperialism. He holds positive views concerning the British Empire. In 2004, he was one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. Ferguson has written and presented numerous television documentary series, including The Ascent of Money, which won an International Emmy Award for Best Documentary in 2009.Ferguson has been a contributing editor for Bloomberg Television and a columnist for Newsweek. He began writing a semi-monthly column for Bloomberg Opinion in June 2020. Early life and education Ferguson was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 18 April 1964 to James Campbell Ferguson, a doctor, and Molly Archibald Hamilton, a physics teacher. Ferguson grew up in the Ibrox area of Glasgow in a home close to the Ibrox Park football stadium. He attended The Glasgow Academy. He was brought up as—and remains (as of the last version of this article) —an atheist, though he has encouraged his children to study religion and attends church occasionally.In a 2023 interview, however, Ferguson declares: "I'm a lapsed atheist... I go to church every Sunday, precisely because having been brought up as an atheist, I came to realise in my career as a historian that not only is atheism a disastrous basis for a society... but also because I don't think it can be a basis for individual ethical decision making". Ferguson cites his father as instilling in him a strong sense of self-discipline and of the moral value of work, while his mother encouraged his creative side. His maternal grandfather, a journalist, encouraged him to write. He has described his parents as "both very much products of the Scottish Enlightenment." Ferguson ascribes his decision to read history at university instead of English literature to two main factors: Leo Tolstoy's reflections on history at the end of War and Peace (which he read at the age of fifteen), and his admiration of historian A. J. P. Taylor. Oxford Ferguson received a demyship (highest scholarship) from Magdalen College, Oxford. Whilst a student there, he wrote a 90-minute student film The Labours of Hercules Sprote, played double bass in a jazz band "Night in Tunisia", edited the student magazine Tributary, and befriended Andrew Sullivan, who shared his interest in right-wing politics and punk music. He had become a Thatcherite by 1982. He graduated with a first-class honours degree in history in 1985.Ferguson studied as a Hanseatic Scholar at the University of Hamburg from 1986 until 1988. He received his Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Oxford in 1989. His dissertation was titled "Business and Politics in the German Inflation: Hamburg 1914–1924". Career Academic career In 1989, Ferguson worked as a research fellow at Christ's College, Cambridge. From 1990 to 1992 he was an official fellow and lecturer at Peterhouse, Cambridge. He then became a fellow and tutor in modern history at Jesus College, Oxford, where in 2000 he was named a professor of political and financial history. In 2002 Ferguson became the John Herzog Professor in Financial History at New York University Stern School of Business, and in 2004 he became the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University and William Ziegler Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. From 2010 to 2011, Ferguson held the Philippe Roman Chair in history and international affairs at the London School of Economics. In 2016 Ferguson left Harvard to become a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he had been an adjunct fellow since 2005. Ferguson has received honorary degrees from the University of Buckingham, Macquarie University (Australia) and Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (Chile). In May 2010, Michael Gove, education secretary, asked Ferguson to advise on the development of a new history syllabus, to be entitled "history as a connected narrative", for schools in England and Wales. In June 2011, he joined other academics to set up the New College of the Humanities, a private college in London.In the same year emails were released to the public and university administrators which documented Ferguson's attempts to discredit a progressive activist student at Stanford University who had been critical of Ferguson's choices of speakers invited to the Cardinal Conversations free speech initiative. He teamed with a Republican student group to find information that might discredit the student. Ferguson resigned from leadership of the program once university administrators became aware of his actions.Ferguson responded in his column saying, "Re-reading my emails now, I am struck by their juvenile, jocular tone. "A famous victory," I wrote the morning after the Murray event. 'Now we turn to the more subtle game of grinding them down on the committee. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.' Then I added: 'Some opposition research on Mr O might also be worthwhile'—a reference to the leader of the protests. None of this happened. The meetings of the student committee were repeatedly postponed. No one ever did any digging on "Mr O". The spring vacation arrived. The only thing that came of the emails was that their circulation led to my stepping down." Business career In 2000 Ferguson was a founding director of Boxmind, an Oxford-based educational technology company. In 2006 he set up Chimerica Media Ltd., a London-based television production company. In 2007 Ferguson was appointed as an investment management consultant by GLG Partners, to advise on geopolitical risk as well as current structural issues in economic behaviour relating to investment decisions. GLG is a UK-based hedge fund management firm headed by Noam Gottesman. Ferguson was also an adviser to Morgan Stanley, the investment bank. In 2011 he set up Greenmantle LLC, an advisory business specializing in macroeconomics and geopolitics. He also serves as a non-executive director on the board of Affiliated Managers Group. Political involvement Ferguson was an advisor to John McCain's U.S. presidential campaign in 2008, supported Mitt Romney in his 2012 campaign, and was a vocal critic of Barack Obama. Non-profit organisation Ferguson is a trustee of the New-York Historical Society and the London-based Centre for Policy Studies. Career as a commentator, documentarian and public intellectual Ferguson has written regularly for British newspapers and magazines since the mid 1980s. At .... Discover the Niall Ferguson popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Niall Ferguson books.
Best Seller Niall Ferguson Books of 2024
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A New Voyage Round the World
William Dampier & Nicholas Thomas'A roaring tale ... remains as vivid and exciting today as it was on publication in 1697' GuardianThe pirate and adventurer William Dampier circumnavigated the globe three times, a...
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This Sovereign Isle
Robert TombsTHE TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERGeography comes before history. Islands cannot have the same history as continental plains. The United Kingdom is a European country, but not the...
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Management Worldwide
David J. Hickson & Derek S. PughBusinesses today need employees who can operate on a global stage, whether as international managers, technical specialists, expatriates or 'parachutists' who make occasional troub...
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The Battle of The Nile
Sam WillisPart of the ALLNEW LADYBIRD EXPERT SERIES Why was the Battle of the Nile so decisive in the French Revolutionary Wars? Why did the French believe they were unassailable? And why di...
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Making History
Richard CohenA “supremely entertaining” (The New Yorker) exploration of who gets to record the world’s historyfrom Julius Caesar to William Shakespeare to Ken Burnsand how their biases influenc...
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The Peterloo Massacre
The Estate of Joyce MarlowThe subject of the new major film by Mike LeighUnity of the oppressed can make a difference in politically uncertain times A peaceful protest turned tragedy; this is the true stor...
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Forgotten Voices Of The Great War
Max ArthurIn 1960, the Imperial War Museum began a momentous and important task. A team of academics, archivists and volunteers set about tracing WWI veterans and interviewing them at length...
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Empire
Niall FergusonNiall Ferguson's acclaimed bestseller on the highs and lows of Britain's empire'A remarkably readable précis of the whole British imperial story triumphs, deceits, decencies, kind...
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Memoirs of My Life
Edward GibbonEdward Gibbon was one of the world's greatest historians and a towering figure of his age. When he died in 1794 he left behind the unfinished drafts of his Memoirs, which were post...
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Licence to be Bad
Jonathan Aldred'It is going to change the way in which we understand many modern debates about economics, politics, and society' Ha Joon Chang, author of 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capit...
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The Fall of Paris
Alistair HorneThe collapse of France in 1870 had an overwhelming impact – on Paris, on France and on the rest of the world. People everywhere saw Paris as the centre of Europe and the hub of cul...
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Unleashing Demons
Craig OliverTHE INSPIRATION BEHIND CHANNEL 4 DRAMA STARRING BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH BREXIT: THE UNCIVIL WARMAIL ON SUNDAY BOOK OF THE YEAR OBSERVER BOOK OF THE WEEK'A compelling book' Evening S...
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Istanbul
John FreelyIstanbul's history is a catalogue of change, not least of name, yet it has managed to retain its own unique identity. John Freely captures the flavour of daily life as well as cour...
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The Federalist Papers
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay & Isaac KramnickWritten at a time when furious arguments were raging about the best way to govern America, The Federalist Papers had the immediate pratical aim of persuading New Yorkers to accept ...
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Edward III and the Triumph of England
Richard BarberA fascinating recreation of the world of one of England's most charismatic monarchs, from awardwinning author and historian Richard BarberThe destruction of the French army at Créc...
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Battle of Trafalgar
Sam WillisPart of the ALLNEW LADYBIRD EXPERT SERIES'Packs plenty of heft into its slender page count' HISTORY REVEALED Why was the Battle of Trafalgar such an important British victory in th...
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On Royalty
Jeremy PaxmanWhat is the point of Kings and Queens? What do they do all day? And what does it mean to be one of them? Jeremy Paxman is used to making politicians explain themselves – but royalt...
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Tales of Belkin and Other Prose Writings
Alexander Pushkin & Ronald WilksAlexander Pushkin was Russia's first true literary genius. Best known for his poetry, he also wrote sparkling prose that revealed his national culture with elegance and understated...
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The Square and the Tower
Niall FergusonThe instant New York Times bestseller. A brilliant recasting of the turning points in world history, including the one we're living through, as a collision between old power hierar...
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Headspace
Amber MarksCrime detection has gone to the dogs and squirrels are being busted for espionage. If you've never wondered about the new direction of 'intelligenceled policing' in our society, no...
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Imperial Spain 1469-1716
J. H Elliott & NEIL PINCHESThe story of Spain's rise to greatness from its humble beginnings as one of the poorest and most marginal of European countries is a remarkable and dramatic one. With the marriage ...
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The Enlightenment
Norman HampsonArmed with the insights of the scientific revolution, the men of the Enlightenment set out to free mankind from its ageold cocoon of pessimism and superstition and establish a more...
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Coloso
Niall FergusonUn recorrido por la historia del poder de los Estados Unidos a lo largo del siglo XX.¿Puede Estados Unidos considerarse el imperio decisivo de las últimas décadas?A lo largo de la ...
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The Digital Republic
Jamie SusskindFrom one of the leading intellectuals of the digital age, The Digital Republic is the definitive guide to the great political question of our time: how can freedom and democracy su...
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India Booms
John FarndonThe ancient birthplace of some of the world's major religions and now a modern nuclear power, India is experiencing spectacular economic growth. In twentyfive years its population ...
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This May Help You Understand the World
Lawrence PotterThis is a life raft for anyone who finds themselves floundering amidst a sea of tensecond soundbites, wishing they had a better grasp of complexities of world politics and global i...
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Preventable
Devi SridharTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER | BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEKThe definitive story of COVID19 and how global politics shape our health from a worldleading expert and the pandemic's go...
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How Ireland Really Went Bust
Matt CooperThe definitive account of the tumultuous events that led to Ireland going broke in 2010From the night the Irish government guaranteed the debts of Irish banks in September 2008 Ire...
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The House of Rothschild
Niall FergusonFrom the bestselling author of The Ascent of Money and The Square and the TowerIn his rich and nuanced portrait of the remarkable, elusive Rothschild family, Oxford ...
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Library Confidential
Don BorchettThe public library a haven of calm, source of information, home to the student, the geek and the aging librarian. Or so you might think.Don Borchert's ten years as assistant libra...
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50 Economics Classics
Tom Butler-BowdonEconomics drives the modern world and shapes our lives, but few of us feel we have time to engage with the breadth of ideas in the subject. 50 Economics Classics is the smart perso...