Lawyers, Guns, and Money

The Cash Nexus: Money and Power in the Modern World, 1700—2000, by Niall Ferguson (Basic, 552 pp., $30)

BRITISH historians in general, and at Oxford University in particular, have for years been a crew of small- scope fact-grubbers and/or Marxist derivatives. With rare exceptions, they have little or nothing to contribute to the study of mankind or the great issues of the day. But then there is Oxford’s Niall Ferguson. He is the author of one weighty book about the Rothschilds and another on the First World War. There is a lot of him about in the British media. He is a big-picture historian, searching out whatever it may be that throws light on events, and ready to challenge accepted opinion. If reports are to be believed, he earns gigantic advances, permitting him to employ talented researchers. Here, in short, is a phenomenon in the making. And not the least part of it is that he is a genuine conservative.

About the Author

David Pryce-Jones

David Pryce-Jones (1936–2025) was a British author and commentator and served as a senior editor of National Review.

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The Cash Nexus: Money and Power in the Modern World, 1700—2000, by Niall Ferguson (Basic, 552 pp., $30)

BRITISH historians in general, and at Oxford University in particular, have for years been a crew of small- scope fact-grubbers and/or Marxist derivatives. With rare exceptions, they have little or nothing to contribute to the study of mankind or the great issues of the day. But then there is Oxford’s Niall Ferguson. He is the author of one weighty book about the Rothschilds and another on the First World War. There is a lot of him about in the British media. He is a big-picture historian, searching out whatever it may be that throws light on events, and ready to challenge accepted opinion. If reports are to be believed, he earns gigantic advances, permitting him to employ talented researchers. Here, in short, is a phenomenon in the making. And not the least part of it is that he is a genuine conservative.