Niall Ferguson talked about his book The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World (Penguin Press; November 13, 2008). In his book Mr. Ferguson presents a history of finance. He contends that financial systems are responsible for human progress and recounts the maturation of world finance and the role it has played throughout history from the Italian Renaissance and French Revolution to the American Civil War and the current global financial crisis. The guest interviewer was Adrian Wooldridge, Washington bureau chief for The Economist. Niall Ferguson is the author of several books, including The Pity of War; Empire; and The War of the World. Mr. Ferguson is currently a history professor at Harvard University as well as senior fellow of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and senior research fellow of Jesus College, Oxford University. Adrian Wooldridge is the Washington bureau chief for The Economist. He has been the magazine's management, British, and West Coast correspondent. Mr. Wooldridge is the co-author of three books, including The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America.