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Tower of Basel
- The Shadowy History of the Secret Bank that Runs the World
- Narrated by: John Mawson
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
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Tower of Basel
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Summary
Tower of Basel is the first investigative history of the world’s most secretive global financial institution. Based on extensive archival research in Switzerland, Britain, and the United States, and in-depth interviews with key decision-makers including Paul Volcker, the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve; Sir Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England; and former senior Bank for International Settlements managers and officials.
Tower of Basel tells the inside story of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS): the central bankers’ own bank. Created by the governors of the Bank of England and the Reichsbank in 1930, and protected by an international treaty, the BIS and its assets are legally beyond the reach of any government or jurisdiction. The bank is untouchable.
Swiss authorities have no jurisdiction over the bank or its premises. The BIS has just 140 customers but made tax-free profits of $1.17 billion in 20112012.Since its creation, the bank has been at the heart of global events but has often gone unnoticed. Under Thomas McKittrick, the bank’s American president from 19401946, the BIS was open for business throughout the Second World War. The BIS accepted looted Nazi gold, conducted foreign exchange deals for the Reichsbank, and was used by both the Allies and the Axis powers as a secret contact point to keep the channels of international finance open.
After 1945 the BIS still behind the scenes for decades provided the necessary technical and administrative support for the trans-European currency project, from the first attempts to harmonize exchange rates in the late 1940s to the launch of the Euro in 2002. It now stands at the center of efforts to build a new global financial and regulatory architecture, once again proving that it has the power to shape the financial rules of our world. Yet despite its pivotal role in the financial and political history of the last century and during the economic current crisis, the BIS has remained largely unknown until now.
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What listeners say about Tower of Basel
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 13-01-21
Truth well told
The unbelievably true story of National, Soviet and Global Socialism. Explains the WEF Great Reset and the Covid 19 Plandemic's true agenda!
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-09-22
Important book
Important book for historical background on why our current financial system is broken. And a great narrator, which is rare on audible! ;)
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- KEVIN WOODS
- 03-11-23
Great insights into BIS workings
Great insights into working of the BIS.Valuable and fascinating history of the background to world events.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Andrew
- 06-11-18
History of banking
It is the great book about the central bank of central banks.
Did not struggle, but I was eager to find time to listen. The most interesting was to find out about involvement of fascists heavily into banking. Narrator wasn't boring. Recommend.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Charlie Pycraft
- 05-01-19
Phenomenal
A fascinating history of international banking. It is amazing the degree to which bankers worked with the Nazis and how this laid down the foundation for our present financial and political situation.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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- Nigel
- 07-02-15
Fascinating
If you're interested in modern history, politics and economics, this is an invaluable key to understanding the making of modern Europe.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- INA
- 30-07-16
A must reading for ...
...anyone who aspires to understand how and by whom strings of politics and economy are pulled and how the contemporary history is made. Fascinating book and well narrated.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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- F. I. Nance
- 28-06-14
Incredible story about the Bank no-one knows
What made the experience of listening to Tower of Basel the most enjoyable?
It's helpful to have read a few books on the economic time between the world wars. A good one would be Lords of Finance. It's shocking then, how important the BIS actually is, and how little one knows about history and objectives of this organization.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Tower of Basel?
When I realized, that I stumbled over a really interesting book, and that my fear to have bought some absurd conspiracy theory was not relevant... The subtitle of the book somehow made it sound to me, like this may have also been a really odd read, but then it was a great account of the history of the BIS and actually, 'shadowy history' and 'runs the world' seem not to be far fetched in retrospect...
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I felt intrigued. I was born in Germany and was surprised and shocked about the conduct of the bank during WWII.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- I. Finlayson
- 29-10-18
Fascinating read about the BIS
Great book. Well researched with excellent narration. I learned an incredible amount of information on the BIS. This bank is an important player in today's financial world, yet it is relatively unknown. The book explains financial terms and the political machinations of the bank very well from it's inception through to the modern day. If you only read one non-fiction book a year, then choose this one.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- 9000
- 25-02-19
Very well presented & read
I really enjoyed this book. banking is a rather dry subject, whoever the author takes pains to discuss the results of the bankers actions and examines their personalities, their circles and motives in a broader historical & social context, which makes the book enjoyable and informative.
The links between this bank and the EU, Nazi Germany, BoE and other organisations is very illuminating and provides a lot of food for thought. The research is presented well and the narration is very fitting.
I would recommend this as both a casual informative listen and something to aid study on the bank in question or even finances of the 3rd Reich.
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1 person found this helpful