Books
Madness Under the Royal Palms
Life in Palm Beach, writes Laurence Leamer, ‘is like an elaborate costume party in which one can wear whatever outfit one wants as long as the mask never falls. For over a century, people have come to the exclusive community to reinvent themselves by cloaking themselves in the illusions of wealth. They often build second acts so unrelated to the first that their biographies are like two different lives mysteriously attached to each other.’
Lords of Finance
Too many financial history books lack pace, often mired by an overly scholastic approach. Liaquat Ahamed’s magisterial study is not only a compelling exception, but also perfectly-timed as we find ourselves living again in the shadows of a major financial crisis.
Nowhere Man
David Yarrow has taken his camera around the world and published the results in his book Nowhere. Here is a portfolio of his best shots
The King of Madison Avenue
Ogilvy gave his market what they wanted, and made himself an effective brand, a clear stand-out from the Organisation Men in their grey flannel suits and Brooks Brothers Boston Boxes. An advertising contemporary, getting it muddled, said Ogilvy was ‘practically a character out of Dickens’. Wrong century, wrong class, but you get the drift.
The Big Rich
In the 1950s Texas oil millionaires became the archetypal wealthy Americans, just as Greek shipping tycoons became the archetypal wealthy Europeans. In 1970s London it would be Arab oil sheikhs who came to dominate popular perceptions of the super-rich; in the 1990s it was Russian oligarchs. Presumably one day they shall go the way of the Texas oil millionaires.
Lord of Finance
Christopher Silvester meets Liaquat Ahamed, author of Lords of Finance, the winner of Spear’s Financial History of the Year award
Barbie and Ruth
Have you had it with Barbie? There’s been a lot of high-end Barbiana from the cultural studies/women’s studies crowd over the past twenty years or so. It’s mostly been about ‘representations’ of women and whether Barbie was a credit to the regiment — or seriously reactionary.
Fool's Gold
According to Gillian Tett in this fizzing account of the derivatives market over the past decade and a half, the root of our current problems can be dated back to a summer weekend in 1994 when the derivatives team of J.P. Morgan enjoyed a corporate retreat in Boca Raton, Florida.
The Match King
The Match King tells the remarkable story of a man who rose from obscurity to become one of the wealthiest men in existence with an empire spanning the globe, encompassing everything from mining, including the world’s third largest gold mine, banking, communications and real estate to the film business — all built on the back of safety matches.
Spear's Book Awards: Winners
The inaugural Spear’s Book Awards, celebrating the very best books of the year – from finance to fiction – took place today, June 30th, 2009, at a glamorous literary lunch held at the Landau restaurant in the five-star Langham, London.
Books
Madness Under the Royal Palms
Laurence Leamer
Life in Palm Beach, writes Laurence Leamer, ‘is like an elaborate costume party in which one can wear whatever outfit one wants as long as the mask never falls. For over a century, people have come to the exclusive community to reinvent themselves by cloaking themselves in the illusions of wealth. They often build second acts so unrelated to the first that their biographies are like two different lives mysteriously attached to each other.’
Lords of Finance
Liaquat Ahamed
Too many financial history books lack pace, often mired by an overly scholastic approach. Liaquat Ahamed’s magisterial study is not only a compelling exception, but also perfectly-timed as we find ourselves living again in the shadows of a major financial crisis.
Nowhere Man
David Yarrow
David Yarrow has taken his camera around the world and published the results in his book Nowhere. Here is a portfolio of his best shots
HNW Events
Ana Mendieta
19 February 2010
Beer Investment Evening
25 February 2010
Mat Collishaw
26 February 2010
Richard Hamilton
03 March 2010
The Diary
David Linley
17 Dec 2009
Anthony Haden-Guest
14 Sep 2009
Caroline Michel
13 May 2009
Andrew Roberts
24 Feb 2009
Victoria Aitken
08 Jan 2009
