Blood and Treasure

War and wealth, or 'blood and treasure', are intimately connected. Thus, war is also an economic activity: it has economic motivations, demands economic resources and has economic consequences. But, over time, as Duncan Weldon explains in this brilliant book, those motivations, resources and consequences have changed. That evolution is not just the result of political and economic developments, but also a leading cause of them. The good news is that the economic gains from major wars have collapsed as the costs have soared. The bad news is even this may not be enough to curb humanity's horrifying propensity for mass conflict. * Martin Wolf, Financial Times Chief Economics Editor *
Chock full of marvellous nuggets, this fascinating book is both important and surprisingly cheering. As the world creeps towards war, we all need to understand the economics behind conflict. But, as this book so brilliantly shows, sometimes it takes war itself to teach us the most profound economic lessons about ourselves * Ed Conway, author of Material World *
This is an absolutely fascinating and totally absorbing book and one that could not be more prescient. Weldon masterfully underscores the historical and ongoing - yet complex - connections between wars, economic development and institutional evolution. Full of wisdom and rich in depth and detail, this does much to further our understanding of the troubled world in which we live today. Brilliant * James Holland *
Journalist and former economist Duncan Weldon explores how war and violence have driven economic change and human progress through history... the author's deep analysis, from the Vikings to the war in Ukraine, proves that conflict has indeed shaped institutions and, in turn, economic outcomes - for better or worse. Fascinating and full of historical detail * Spears *
A delightfully quirky approach to military history... Thanks to an obvious deep love of the subject, a deft choice of examples and some thoroughly satisfying human stories... Weldon has made warfare a good thing to read about * Spectator *