JOIN USAhamed, who has appeared on Indian television discussion on the global economic crisis recently, won the 30,000 pounds prize for his book, 'Lords of Finance: 1929, The great Depression, and the Bankers Who Broke the World'.
The award was presented last night at the Victoria & Albert Museum by Lionel Barber, editor, Financial Times, and Lloyd C Blankfein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Goldman Sachs.
Lord Mandelson, UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills, who was the keynote speaker, said, "The Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book Award celebrates books that are not just about running a business but are also about the social, political, and even ethical landscape in which business is done. This is the business that I deal with as a Minister, and which shapes our economy."
Nilekani and other four runners-up received a cheque for 5,000 pounds. The Award, which was established in 2005, aims to find the book that provides 'the most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues.'
Lionel Barber said of the winning title, "A brilliant book, which brings to life the 1920s and the role of its great public servants in trying, but ultimately failing, to manage the world financial system. A must for anyone who wants to understand economics.”
Lloyd C Blankfein commented, "Lords of Finance is a timely reminder that turmoil and instability in financial markets are not an invention of the 21st Century. It is an extraordinarily researched book that is beautifully written."
The other short-listed books were, Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism, by George A. Akerlof & Robert J. Shiller; Good Value: Reflections on Money, Morality and an Uncertain World, by Stephen Green; In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic, by David Wessel; and The Match King: Ivar Kreuger and the Financial Scandal of the Century, by Frank Partnoy.