TOEIC_PART 7_練習問題90（Review・TOEIC過去問風)

“Book review: “The History of Flowing Assets – The Rise and Fall of Banks from Ancient to Modern Times”

This is an excellent book that traces the amazing evolution of the banking system and clearly captures the history from ancient times to the present day. Author Jane Smith draws on her years of experience as a financial journalist to reveal how money, credit, and financial institutions have developed.

The first chapter explains how the basic concept of lending and borrowing was developed from ancient Sumer to Greece, Rome, and medieval Europe. With the transition from an agricultural society to a commercial society, people felt the need to control the flow of assets, which led to the development of money and the emergence of financial institutions. The author skillfully writes about these historical backgrounds vividly.

The middle chapters focus on the development of banks from the Renaissance period to modern times. In particular, it provides a rough explanation of the rise of the banking industry in Italy’s Florence, Venice, and the Netherlands, and the economic changes that accompanied this. The book also covers the role of financial institutions and challenges to risks in the midst of the rise of the credit economy, and provides an overview of the interactions between economic conditions and banks over time.

In modern times, the banking industry has faced many challenges, including the Great Depression, the collapse of the gold standard, and the transition to the modern digital age. Through these events, the author skillfully depicts the transformation of banks and the economic and social dynamics behind them.

One of the appeals of this book is that it allows us to understand how banking history has been linked to the evolution of humanity and the transformation of society, without being bound by the framework of banking history. In addition, the author avoids technical terms and writes in a style that is easy to understand for a wide range of general readers, making it possible to arouse interest in the history of banks even among readers with no prior knowledge.

For this reason, some readers may feel that the book is only an overview and lacks detailed analysis of each period and event. It is true that there is a lack of depth throughout, but this can be said to be a common problem with many books that focus on history.

Overall, this is an excellent book that clearly and interestingly describes the evolution of banks from ancient times to the present day. This book is a valuable resource filled with a wealth of information and insight, and is recommended for those interested in history and economics.”