Der zweite Weltkrieg war verheerender Höhepunkt in der Geschichte, der aus Sicht des Autors fast die westliche Zivilisation gekostet hat. Biggs beschäftigt sich in seinem Buch daher mit der Frage, wie es Menschen in solchen Extremzeiten gelingen kann ihr Kapital zu sicher. Er analysiert dazu das Investitionsverhalten der Anleger von 1930-1945, und zwar sowohl auf Seiten der Sieger als auch auf Seiten der Besiegten. So stellt er beispielweise fest dass Grundeigentümer ihren Reichtum stärker schützten, als die Menschen die ihr Geld in Aktien angelegt hatten. Interessant ist vor allem, dass sich die Lehren aus dem Krieg direkt auf die heutigen turbulenten Märkte anwenden lässt.

Barton Biggs spent thirty years at Morgan Stanley. In that time, he formed the firm's number one- ranked research department, built up its investment management business, and served as chairman of the investment management firm. At various times during this period, he was ranked as the number-one U.S. investment strategist by the Institutional Investor magazine poll and then, from 1996 to 2003, as the number-one global strategist. He was also a member of the five-man executive committee that ran the firm until its merger with Dean Witter in 1996. In 2003, Biggs left Morgan Stanley and, with two other colleagues, formed Traxis Partners. Traxis now has well over a billion dollars under its management. Biggs's previous book, Hedgehogging, was also published by Wiley and is an international success.

Leseprobe

Introduction. Chapter 1. Listen to the Market Crowd. Chapter 2. A World Darkened By Fear: An Overview of Soviet, German, and Japanese Aggression from 1929-1945. Chapter 3. Stock Markets Struggle: From the Great Depression to the Start of WWII. Chapter 4. ''The Most Splendid, Most Deadly Year'': The Time of England''s Greatest Peril. Chapter 5. Besieged and Alone. England in 1941. Chapter 6. Operation Barbarossa. Germany Attacks Russia. Chapter 7. Miracles at the Coral Sea and Midway. Japan and America. Chapter 8. Stock Markets Understood. Nobody Else Did. Chapter 9. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: What Happened to Wealth in the Countries Germany Conquered? Chapter 10. France Declines Financially, Economically, and Socially. Chapter 11. Gone with the Wind; Preserving Wealth in Italy and Germany. Chapter 12. Stalingrad: The Battle of the Century. Chapter 13. Defeats and then Victories in Asia and North Africa --and Their Effect on Global Markets. Chapter 14. The Test in Korea: The Last Battle of WWII. Chapter 15. Preserving Wealth in a Time of Cholera. Chapter 16. Barbarians at the Gates. Sources. Bibliography. Index.