- A richly original look at the origins of money and how it makes the world go around Niall Ferguson follows the money to tell the human story behind the evolution of our financial system, from its genesis in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals on what he calls Planet Finance. Whatas more, Ferguson reveals financial history as the essential backstory behind all history, arguing that the evolution of credit and debt was as important as any technological innovation in the rise of civilization. As Ferguson traces the crisis from ancient Egyptas Memphis to todayas Chongqing, he offers bold and compelling new insights into the risea and fallaof not just money but Western power as well.