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Janet Gleeson
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The Arcanumby Janet GleesonISBN 0446674842 (0-446-67484-2)
Softcover, Grand Central Pub
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Arcanum'Book summary:Since the middle ages, Western Europeans have practiced alchemy, a primitive form of chemistry, in the great hope of transforming base metal into gold. In the early 18th century, a second great secret puzzled Western Europe's early scientists: how to make porcelain. Recently arrived from the Orient, porcelain quickly became a symbol of power, prestige, and good taste. In The Arcanum, Janet Gleeson presents an entertaining and informative account of the invention of European porcelain and the founding of the Meissen Porcelain Manufacture outside Dresden, Germany.
Her narrative focuses on three individuals: Alchemist Johann Frederick Böttger inadvertently discovered the arcanum, or secret formula, for making porcelain; Johan Gregor Herold, an ambitious artist, developed colors and patterns of unparalleled brilliance at the newly established Meissen Porcelain Manufacture; Johann Joachim Kaendler, a virtuoso sculptor, used the Meissen porcelain to invent a new art form. Interwoven with the story of Augustus the Strong, the greedy and ambitious king of the Kingdom of Saxony, who held Böttger captive until he discovered the formula, Gleeson's tale reads easily and maintains a high level of suspense and intrigue throughout. --Bertina Loeffler [via]
The Arcanum : The Extraordinary True Story of the Invention of European Porcelainby Janet GleesonISBN 0593043480 (0-593-04348-0)
Hardcover, Bantam Books
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An Aristocratic Affairby Janet GleesonISBN 0553817418 (0-553-81741-8)
Softcover, Transworld Publishers Limited
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The Grenadillo Boxby Janet GleesonISBN 0593048032 (0-593-04803-2)
Hardcover, Bantam Books
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Living in a Dream: Great Residences of the Worldby Mike Brown, Jan Morris, Janet Gleeson , Fiona KeatingISBN 0671868144 (0-671-86814-4)
Hardcover, Simon & Schuster
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Millionaire: The Philanderer, Gambler, and Duelist Who Invented Modern Financeby Janet GleesonISBN 0684872951 (0-684-87295-1)
Hardcover, Simon & Schuster
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Millionaire: The Philanderer, Gambler, and Duelist Who Invented Modern Finance'Book summary:Given our modern-day obsession with stock speculation, our frenzied sprint toward pre-IPO investment, and our fascination with the creation of overnight wealth, Janet Gleeson's Millionaire is timely, to say the least. The story of John Law's life and legacy is nothing short of incredible, breath-catching drama.
Born into a Scottish family of Church clerics and goldsmiths in 1671, John Law grew up to exude little of the moral and much of the monetary influence in his blood. When, as a 23-year-old gambler and philandering playboy on the London scene, he killed a nobleman in a duel, he was thrown into prison and sentenced to death. After pursing legal channels of appeal and getting nowhere, he eventually escaped and began the life of a gambler-cum-aristocrat in exile. His uncanny knack at the card tables and renowned success with women earned him a dubious reputation within late seventeenth-century European social circles. But his equally outstanding mathematical skills and fascination with the mechanisms of credit also brought him to the attention of political leaders. After attempting to peddle his revolutionary scheme for creating a national bank that issued paper currency to officials in London, Scotland, Vienna, Turin, and elsewhere, Law finally convinced the war-impoverished French government to back his plan. The bank's success and the events that followed--Law's introduction of the "Mississippi scheme," a wild exercise in capital procurement and share offering that spawned the greatest bull market in history and its drastic crash--make this book fascinating reading for anyone playing the markets today.
Gleeson writes with clarity and style on topics that are notoriously complex and potentially dry. Without dumbing down her subject matter, she elucidates the finer points of credit-based financial systems and stock markets in readable English, welcoming both finance aficionados and illiterates to Law's tale. In that regard, the book is similar to Simon Winchester's The Professor and the Madman, and though ostensibly a record of the rise and fall of one of the world's most infamous--and ultimately influential--financiers, it is a story of murder, lust, politics, wealth, and poverty and far more intriguing than most fare in its often prosaic category. Indeed, this book will leap off your business bookshelf faster than you can ask who wants to be a millionaire. --S. Ketchum [via]
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Moneymakerby Janet GleesonISBN 0553812475 (0-553-81247-5)
Softcover, Bantam Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Moneymaker'Book summary:Three hundred years ago, a charismatic young gambler and man-about-town with a natural gift for mathematics fled London for the Contintent. His name was John Law and he had a good reason to go, having killed a man in a duel. Living off his lucrative winnings at the gaming tables of Europe, Law became increasingly fascinated by the nature of finance and journeyed to the impoverished, famine-stricken France of Louis XIV with an extraordinary idea. At the time when wealth was stored and exchanged as gold and silver coin - and there was rarely enough to fund the extravagance of kings, let alone trade - Law realised that the overriding problem was lack of available money. He reasoned that if this could be lent in the form of paper, properly backed by assets, then it could be lend repeatedly and credit used to multiply the opportunities for the making of money. Such a radical notion meant Law faced opposition from powerful vested interests. His persistence paid off in 1716 when, with royal backing, he established the first French bank to issue paper money. He also created a trading company which made its shareholders rich beyond their wildest dreams: so much so that the new term 'millionaire' was coined to describe them. What follows is the stuff of epic drama: a tale of fortunes won and lost, of paupers made rich and lords losing all. And in telling this enthralling tragi-comic story, Janet Gleeson brings to life two fascinating characters who together would change the way the world worked: the inscrutable John Law, and mercurial money itself. [via]
More editions of Moneymaker:
- Moneymaker: ISBN 0582453976 (0-582-45397-6)
Softcover, Addison-Wesley Longman, Limited - Moneymaker: ISBN 0582453534 (0-582-45353-4)
Hardcover, Pearson Education, Limited - The Moneymaker: ISBN 0593044983 (0-593-04498-3)
Hardcover, Bantam Books - The Moneymaker: ISBN 0553812475 (0-553-81247-5)
Softcover, Bantam Books
- Moneymaker: ISBN 0582453976 (0-582-45397-6)
Privilege and Scandal: The Remarkable Life of Harriet Spencer, Sister of Georgianaby Janet GleesonISBN 0307381986 (0-307-38198-6)
Softcover, Three Rivers Pr
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The Serpent in the Gardenby Janet GleesonISBN 0553815245 (0-553-81524-5)
Softcover, Transworld Publishers Limited
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The Thief Takerby Janet GleesonISBN 0593052609 (0-593-05260-9)
Hardcover, Bantam Books
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