Set in 2005, the narrative follows Ian Klaus, a Rhodes Scholar who takes a teaching position at Salahaddin University in Iraq. His mission extends beyond academics; he aims to contribute to Iraq's stability and success. Through diverse topics, from pop culture to American ideals, Klaus engages students more familiar with entertainment than history. His experiences provide an insightful and candid perspective on life in a post-Saddam Iraq, revealing the complexities and challenges of cultural exchange in a tumultuous time.
Vice is the true father of Western capitalism, according to Ian Klaus in this fascinating, wildly entertaining, and often startling history of modern finance. Rather than the noble pursuit of gentlemen, international financial affairs in the nineteenth century were conducted in large part, the author suggests, by connivers, thieves, swindlers and frauds who believed that no risk was too great and no scheme too outrageous if the monetary reward was substantial enough. Taken together, these grand deceptions and the determined efforts made to guard against them were instrumental in creating the financial establishments of today. In a story teeming with playboys and scoundrels and rich in colourful, often incredible events, Klaus chronicles the evolution of trust institutions through three distinct incarnations: those constructed around values, those constructed around networks and reputations, and, ultimately, those constructed around skepticism, technology and verification. In an age when the questionable dealings of gargantuan international monetary organizations are continually in the spotlight, this extraordinary history has great relevance, offering essential lessons on both the importance and the limitations of trust in today's world.
