<p>Covering the historical part, you may want to look at:</p>

<p><strong>1) <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1491531002">The Battle of Bretton Woods: John Maynard Keynes, Harry Dexter White, and the Making of a New World Order</a></strong></p>

<p>which appears to be written in a "non-fiction thriller" style, revolving around the argument that</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><em>"(Bretton Woods) was in reality part of a much more ambitious geopolitical agenda hatched within President Franklin D. Roosevelt's
  Treasury and aimed at eliminating Britain as an economic and political
  rival. At the heart of the drama were the antipodal characters of John
  Maynard Keynes, the renowned and revolutionary British economist, and
  Harry Dexter White, the dogged, self-made American technocrat.</em>"</p>
</blockquote>

<p>while the raw-data option would be </p>

<p><strong>2) <a href="http://www.centerforfinancialstability.org/brettonwoods.php">The Bretton Woods Transcripts</strong></a></p>

<p>that</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><em>"...offer the reader a front row seat at the conference that has shaped the international monetary system for nearly 70 years. The
  Bretton Woods Transcripts were never intended for publication, and
  give an inside perspective of what participants at this major
  international gathering said behind closed doors.</em>"</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-21T19:40:52.253Z
2015-12-21T19:40:52.253Z
Alecos Papadopoulos
<p>I am looking for a good book to explain to me why the gold standard existed and why in the Bretton Woods conferences, some countries choose to abandon it. An explanation of the general scenario in a historical setting would also be greatly appreciated.</p>

<reference-request><currency><currency-peg><history><history-economic-thought>
Book for Bretton Woods conferences and gold standard
Trajan
# Book for Bretton Woods conferences and gold standard

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-12-20)

I am looking for a good book to explain to me why the gold standard existed and why in the Bretton Woods conferences, some countries choose to abandon it. An explanation of the general scenario in a historical setting would also be greatly appreciated.

**Tags:** reference-request, currency, currency-peg, history, history-economic-thought

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-12-21. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

Covering the historical part, you may want to look at:

**1) [The Battle of Bretton Woods: John Maynard Keynes, Harry Dexter White, and the Making of a New World Order](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1491531002)**

which appears to be written in a "non-fiction thriller" style, revolving around the argument that

> *"(Bretton Woods) was in reality part of a much more ambitious geopolitical agenda hatched within President Franklin D. Roosevelt's
> Treasury and aimed at eliminating Britain as an economic and political
> rival. At the heart of the drama were the antipodal characters of John
> Maynard Keynes, the renowned and revolutionary British economist, and
> Harry Dexter White, the dogged, self-made American technocrat.*"

while the raw-data option would be

**2) [The Bretton Woods Transcripts](http://www.centerforfinancialstability.org/brettonwoods.php)**

that

> *"...offer the reader a front row seat at the conference that has shaped the international monetary system for nearly 70 years. The
> Bretton Woods Transcripts were never intended for publication, and
> give an inside perspective of what participants at this major
> international gathering said behind closed doors.*"


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