John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) was the most influential economist of the first half of the twentieth century. During both world wars he was an adviser to the British treasury, and his theory of government stimulation of the economy through deficit spending influenced Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" administration. The mass unemployment caused by the Great Depression inspired his most famous work, General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1935-36).
Keynes first gained widespread prominence immediately following World War I, when he attended the Versailles peace conference as an economic adviser to British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. Disgusted with the harshly punitive and unrealistic provisions of the Versailles Treaty, as well as the political chicanery and general incompetence of the chief participants, he published The Economic Consequences of the Peace in 1919. This book gained a good deal of notoriety because of its withering portraits of both French premier Georges Clemenceau and U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. Keynes described Clemenceau as motivated only by shortsighted nationalistic goals and vindictiveness, which aimed at crippling Germany for generations no matter what the consequences to the rest of Europe. He found fault with Wilson for his ivory tower idealism, lack of diplomatic savvy, and unfamiliarity with the political realities of Europe. This ineffectual combination ultimately dashed his best hopes for a League of Nations and a just resolution to the war in Europe. In a point-by-point analysis Keynes makes clear the ruinous consequences of the treaty to all of Europe and proposes substantial modifications. Unfortunately, few appreciated Keynes's prescience, and he saw his worst fears realized in the rise of Hitler and the devastation of World War II.
In The End of Laissez-Faire (1926) he presents a brief historical review of laissez-faire economic policy. Though he agrees in principle that a marketplace of free individuals pursuing their own self-interest without government interference has a better chance of improving society's economic situation than socialist alternatives, he suggests that government can play a constructive role in protecting individuals from the worst harms of capitalism's cycles, especially as concerns unemployment. Other useful government functions are the dissemination of information relating to business conditions, encouraging savings and investment along "nationally productive channels," and forming a national policy about the size of population.
Keynes's brilliant mind and lucid writing are evident on every page. Both of these works are still well worth reading for his many stimulating ideas and profound knowledge of economics.

著名经济学家张维迎教授撰序推荐：
“当我们正在经历着二战以来最为严重的世界性经济危机的时候，我建议所有经济学家、政府官员和媒体人士，甚至普通大众，都读一读罗斯巴德的《美国大萧条》，因为它有助于我们反思这次危机的真正原因，思考政府采取的政策是否恰当，也有助于未来不再犯同样的错误。”
解读20世纪初美国经济灾难的前因后果
探究经济世界繁荣与衰退交相罔替的来龙去脉
《美国大萧条》是奥地利经济学派的重要著作。作者根据米塞斯关于商业周期的理论，细致而全面地分析了美国20世纪20至30年代的经济状况，对那场发生在上世纪初的经济危机进行了深入的探讨。巴斯罗德认为那场大萧条不是因为政府实行了“自由放任主义”的政策引起的，而恰恰相反正是政府过多地干预经济使然；对于金融领域，巴斯罗德采取了反中央银行的立场，批评了中央银行违背金本位原则，而对金融货币领域加以干预的做法，认为这样对长期的经济发展是非常不利的。
20世纪二三十年代，一场美国大萧条震动了世界。
是“自由放任”之罪？抑或是“过度干预”之弊？
怎样的人为动机使得经济数据发生了变化？
历史轮回之际，
商业周期理论是否依然有效？
8000亿救市美元何时生效？
政府之手与市场之手应当扮演何种角色？
而我们，又当如何面对当下的危机？

“货币政策是一把有力的双刃剑，用对了，可以维持经济的健康发展，反之则会危害经济安全。”
货币政策对国家经济体系的管理来说至关重要，尤其是在经济动荡时期。当经济危机来临时，我们应该采取怎样的货币政策来应对？
作为20世纪最具影响力的经济学著作之一《美国货币史：1867－1960》的一章，本书深刻剖析了20世纪最惨烈的一次经济衰退，并对美联储当时失败的货币政策进行了深入分析。美联储完全可以阻止经济萧条的恶化，然而，它并未担负起管理货币体系，缓解银行业恐慌的职责，导致了大衰退的爆发。书中详实的历史数据和犀利透彻的分析，揭示了货币供应在经济调控过程中所起的重要作用。
正确的政策会减少危机，否则，一次小衰退可以演化为大危机。目前，由美国引发，波及全球的金融危机正有愈演愈烈之势，在新的形势下，政府究竟应该采取怎样的货币政策来应对危机？弗里德曼和施瓦茨的不朽巨作仍能带给我们极大的启发。

This is a reassessment of the international monetary crises of the post-World War I period, that led to the Great Depression of the 1930s. It also analyzes the responses of the world's economic powers to the Depression and how new monetary policies set the stage for the watershed post-World War II system established at Bretton Woods. It offers new theories of what effect the Great Depression had on the collapse of the world monetary system, and what effect the collapse had on deepening and prolonging the Depression, by exploring the link between global economic crises and the the gold standard (the framework for international monetary affairs until 1931).