The idea of world leaders gathering in the midst of economic crisis is now familiar.
Written with exceptional verve and narrative pace, this is an extraordinary debut from a talented new historian..
The heart of the conference was the love-hate relationship between John Maynard Keynes--the greatest economist of his day, who suffered a heart attack at the conference--and his American counterpart Harry Dexter White (later revealed to be passing information to Russian spies).
All the while, war in Europe raged on.
The delegates spent half the time at each other\'s throats and the other half drinking in the bar.
But what everyone has assumed to be a dry economic conference was in fact replete with drama.
Their resulting system presided over the longest period of growth in history.
It was the only time the leading countries in the world agreed to overhaul the structure of the international monetary system.
But 1944\'s meeting at Bretton Woods was different.
The idea of world leaders gathering in the midst of economic crisis is now familiar
