” I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” Matthew 19:24 

Presently, there are 2,781 billionaires in the world worth $14.2 trillion in aggregate, up by $2 trillion from 2023. A total of 137 individuals became billionaires for the first time with an accumulated wealth of $291.5 billion in 2023. Expect all those numbers to rise.

Guido Alfani is a Professor of Economic History at Boccon University, Milan. In As Gods Among Men: A History of the Rich in the West, Alfani takes the reader on a guided tour of the wealthy over the centuries. Alfani shows how Alan Rufus became a companion of William the Conqueror and then went on to control the staggering amount of more than seven per cent of the national income of England and was perhaps the richest man – other than monarchs – who ever lived in Britain. Elon Musk could not aspire to such wealth today.

Then there are the Medici of Florence, the Fuggers of Augsburg, together with the wealthy of the Netherlands, France and, overwhelmingly in recent decades, Americans: Andrew Carnegie, the Rockefellers, John Pierpont Morgan (who in 1907 single-handedly stopped the collapse of the American financial system) and most recently the tech billionaires like Bill Gates and Musk.

Throughout two millennia most of the rich have been rich because of inheritance. They had rich fathers or uncles; the prime examples are nobles, closely associated with royal dynasties. Successive reductions in inheritance taxes were specifically designed to make it easier to preserve inherited wealth. The rich now lobby and donate to political parties in Britain and America to abolish such taxes entirely. Trump promises a big tax cut for his wealthy supporters when he’s President again.

Alfani dances around Income Inequality and what the Rich do with their money other than to garner more power. My mother told me as a kid that “money is the root of all evil.” And I still believe that. GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction 1

Studying the History of the Rich So Far: A Brief Overview 3

The Structure of the Book and Its Main Arguments 7

Part I In the Hands of the Few 

1 What Is Wealth, and How Much Is Needed to Be Rich? 17

Defining Wealth across the Ages 18

Who Can Be Considered ‘Rich’? 22

The Historical Sources for Studying Wealth and the Rich: An Overview 27

2 Wealth Concentration and the Prevalence of the Rich across History: An Overview 36

From the Black Death (and Earlier) to the American Revolution 37

Wealth Concentration in the Modern Age 43

Why Does Wealth Concentration (Almost) Always Grow? 50

How Many Were Rich across Time? 56

Part II The Paths to Affluence 

3 On Aristocracy, New and Past 65

What’s in a Noble? Some Initial Definitions 65

The Enrooting of the Feudal Nobility in Medieval Europe 67

Becoming a Noble, from the Early Modern Period to Napoleon’s Time and Beyond 70

The Survival of the Nobility in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries and the Emergence of New Aristocracies 75

Nobility and Wealth: Some Further Reflections 80

Has a ‘Global Aristocracy’ Arisen Today? 84

4 On Innovation and Technology 88

Brilliant Sinners: Traders and Merchant-Entrepreneurs in the Middle Ages (and Before) 89

A New World of Opportunities 94

New Opportunities in the Old World 101

The Boon of Technology: Becoming Rich in the Industrial Age 105

The Problem of Entrepreneurial Dynasties: From Merit to Privilege? 112

Achieving Great Wealth in the Age of Information: Opportunities for All? 118

5 On Finance 125

Usurers or Bankers? Vie Commerce of Money in Medieval and Early Modern Times 126

Tax Farming, a Necessary Evil 134

On Investors, from Preindustrial to Industrial Times 138

Bankers of the Modern Era: Continuity and Change 142

Women in Finance: An Overview 148

The Progressive Financialization of the Modern Economy 153

6 The Curse of Smaug: The Saving and Consumption Habits of the Rich 159

The Consumption Habits of the Rich: From Medieval (Relative) Moderation to Conspicuous Consumption 160

The Saving Habits of the Rich: A Historical Overview 165

The Rich, the Race and the Inheritance 173

To Save or Not to Save? A Social Conundrum 178

7 Making It to the Top: An Overview 181

The Main Paths to Affluence in History: Summing Up 182

The Composition of the Rich from the Late Middle Ages to the Nineteenth Century 184

The Composition of the Richest from the Nineteenth Century to the Interwar Period 191

A Thorny Issue: Inheritance 196

Wealth in the Early Twenty-First Century: Where Are We Heading? 203

Part III The Rich in Society 

8 Why Wealth Concentration Can Be a Social Problem: From Thomas Aquinas to Piketty 213

The Medieval Distrust of the Rich and the Super-Rich 214

Finding a Role for the Rich: From Sinners to Elect 218

Red Threads in History 225

On Inequality and the Perception of the Rich 232

9 Patrons, Benefactors, Donors 237

Maecenatism and Patronage between Public Good and Personal Interest: From Antiquity to Early Modern Times 238

Benefactors and Philanthropists of the Industrial Age 246

A Modern Dilemma: To Donate or to Pay Tax? 253

10 The Super-Rich and Politics 259

Wealth as a Path to Politics in Early Republics 260

Wealth as a Path to Politics in Modern Parliamentary Democracies 265

Politics as a Path to Wealth 273

Politics and Taxation 278

11 The Rich in Times of Crisis from the Black Death to COVID-19 285

The Rich and the Black Death: Boom or Bust? 286

The Crises of Early Modern Times: Plagues and Famines 291

The Rich during Wars and the Wars of the Rich 296

The Rich during Financial Crises 306

The Rich and COVID-19 312

Concluding Remarks 316

Appendix: Sources for Tables and Figures in the Main Text 321

Notes 325

Bibliography 367

Index 403

Diane and I traveled to Sheas Performing Arts Center to see Mamma Mia!: The Musical. This the 6th time I’ve seen Mamma Mia! : The Musical. I first saw it in Toronto in 2002. Over 65 million people have seen Mamma Mia! : The Musical and it has set the record for premiering in more cities faster than any other musical in history. The first city to produce the show after London was Toronto, where it ran from May 23, 2000, to May 22, 2005. Now touring companies like the one that just came to Buffalo travel all around the country putting on this delightful show.

As many of you know, ABBA was Bill Crider’s favorite musical group. He had all the albums and knew all the words to the ABBA songs. But when I was talking with Bill at the BOUCHERCON in Toronto in 2004, I was shocked when Bill said he’d never seen Mamma Mia! : The Musical. So I walked from the hotel to the Royal Alexandra Theatre–just a couple blocks away–and bought three tickets. Later that day, Bill, Judy, and I were watching a talented group of actors singing and dancing to ABBA music. And Bill ended up dancing in the aisle!

The plot of Mamma Mia! : The Musical begins with a young woman mailing invitations to her Wedding. Raised by a single mother (Donna), Sophie has longed to know her father. But Donna refused to tell Sophie about him. Sophie finds her mother’s diary from 20 years ago and discovers Donna had encounters with three men within a short period of time. Sophie suspects one of these three men is her father. Sophie forges Donna’s name on the invitations and mails them out. A few weeks later, all three men arrive on the Greek island where the Wedding will take place. In addition, Donna’s two close girlfriends arrive to add to the mix of subplots.

If you enjoy ABBA music, you’ll enjoy Mamma Mia! : The Musical. It’s silly, fun, and you may find yourself dancing in the aisles, too. GRADE: A

SONG LIST:

Act I “Overture/Prologue” – Sophie “Honey, Honey” – Sophie, Ali & Lisa “Money, Money, Money” – Donna, Tanya, Rosie, Pepper & Company “Thank You for the Music” – Sophie, Sam, Harry & Bill “Mamma Mia” – Donna & Company “Chiquitita” – Donna, Tanya & Rosie “Dancing Queen” – Donna, Tanya & Rosie “Lay All Your Love on Me” – Sky, Sophie & Male Ensemble “Super Trouper” – Donna, Tanya, Rosie & Female Ensemble “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” – Female Ensemble” The Name of the Game” – Sophie & Bill” Voulez-Vous” – Company

Act II “Entr’acte” – Orchestra “Under Attack” – Sophie & Company “One of Us” – Donna “SOS” – Donna & Sam “Does Your Mother Know” – Tanya, Pepper & Company “Knowing Me, Knowing You” – Sam “Our Last Summer” – Harry & Donna “Slipping Through My Fingers” – Donna & Sophie “The Winner Takes It All” – Donna “Take a Chance on Me” – Rosie & Bil l”I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do” – Sam, Donna & Company “I Have a Dream” – Sophie

The mis-named THE PIANO GUYS –one guy plays the cello (Steven Sharp Nelson) and one guy plays the piano (Jon Schmidt)–started their 2024 Tour in Buffalo and guess who was there? Yes, Diane wanted to see (and hear) these guys even after I gave her a PIANO GUYS CD to listen to. THE PIANO GUYS have been together for 30 years and have played Buffalo in the past.

I slowly warmed to THE PIANO GUYS after listening to some very flashy piano and cello playing. I liked the mix of classic and contemporary music mashups. The videos accompanying some of the songs were distracting (for me) and the audience (not a Sell-Out) rewarded the duo with plenty of applause. I like the addition of a group of student violinists from Sweet Home High School and a group of local bagpipers to assist on a couple of songs. Nice touch!

If THE PIANO GUYS show up in your neighborhood, you might want to consider seeing them. They won me over. GRADE: B+

SET LIST:

1. Avengers / Pirates of the Caribbean Theme Songs Play Video
2. A Sky Full of Stars Play Video
3. All of MePlay Video
4. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star((Jon playing upside down)) Play Video
5. Smooth Criminal(Michael Jackson cover) ((Steven loop pedal demonstration)) Play Video
6. With or Without You / Pachelbel’s Canon Play Video
7. Heart and Soul(Larry Clinton & His Orchestra cover) Play Video
8. Kung Fu Piano: Cello Ascends Play Video
9. Sweet Child O’ Mine Play Video
10. Für Elise Jam Play Video
11. The Cello Song Play Video
12. Beethoven’s 5 Secrets Play Video
13. Waterfall Play Video
14. North Cape Play Video
15. Let It Go / Vivaldi’s Winter Play Video
16. The Mission / How Great Thou Art Play Video
17. I Want You Bach Play Video
18. Rockelbel’s Canon Play Video
19. A Thousand Years (Christina Perri cover) Play Video
20. Fight Song / Amazing Grace
21. ENCORE: “You Belong to Me” (Taylor Swift) and “Viva La Vida” (Coldplay)

Garry Wills is best known for Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America. But back in 2010, Wills published Bomb Power. With the attack on Israel less than a week ago, when Iran fired 16 tons of ordinance in the form of drones and missiles, what Wills had to say about bombs and power seemed very pertinent for our times.

For the nitty-gritty aspects of the development of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer lays it all out. But Wills is more interested in “Atomic Politics” where only three people in the U.S. Government actually knew about the Manhattan Project. And that secrecy continues to this day although Marjorie Taylor Greene may have slipped when she talked about “Space Lasers.”

A key Wills topic is “The Care and Keeping of the Bomb.” Wills argues that once a country has a nuclear weapon, the rules change. The first change is that the Government needs to secure its weapons. Secret bases are established. Secret research into make more powerful and accurate bombs needs to be undertaken.

The United States is the only country to use atomic weapons in war time. But given the proliferation of nuclear weapons, it’s only a matter of time before a rogue state like North Korea launches a nuclear missile at one of its “enemies.”

Wills also shows how Government secrecy can be used to cover up embarrassments, keep failures from Congressional oversight, sabotage legislation, and disguise corruption. All of this adds to Presidential power…which could be misused in the name of “National Security.”

If you have any interest in the policy issues of nuclear weapons and the Government apparatus needed to protect them, Bomb Power will give you plenty to think about. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

War in Peace –1

I. THE MAKING OF BOMB POWER

1. Fatal Miracle — 7
2. Atomic Politics — 24
3. The Care and Keeping of the Bomb — 41

II. THE NATIONAL SECURITY STATE

4. Beginnings (1945-1946) — 57

5. Annus Mirabilis (1947) — 70

6. Completing the Apparatus (1948-1952) — 86

III. PRESIDENTIAL WARS

7. Korea — 105

8. Permanent Emergency — 120

IV. INFORMATION POWER

9. Secrecy as Embarrassment Cover — 137

10. Secrecy as Congress Deceiver — 148

11. Secrecy as Policy Disabler — 161

12. Secrecy as Crime Concealer — 175

V. EXECUTIVE USURPATIONS

13. “War Powers” — 187

14. Challenging Secrecy — 197

15. The Unitary Executive — 209

16. American Monarch — 222

Afterword — 237

Notes — 243

Index — 267

I was a big fan of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young back in the 1970s and 1980s. But somehow I missed American Dream which showed up in record stores (remember them?) at the end of the Eighties. One of the reasons I missed this album was it isn’t very good. Why did CSNY put out a mediocre album. I went down the Internet Rabbit Hole and found some of the reasons why American Dream sucked:

“American Dream is the fifth studio album by Crosby, Stills & Nash, and their second with Neil Young. Released in 1988 on Atlantic Records, it peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. To date, it is their final album of original material to receive either a gold or platinum citation by the RIAA.” —Wikipedia

“Neil Young promised David Crosby in 1983 that he would reunite with Crosby, Stills & Nash if Crosby could solve his problems with drugs and clean himself up. Five months in prison in 1986 for Crosby at the Texas Department of Corrections in Huntsville following his 1985 arrest for possession of illegal drugs and a semi-automatic firearm in West Palm Beach, Florida accomplished exactly that, and good to Young’s word the quartet assembled to record the second official CSNY studio album at Young’s ranch in Woodside, California with his handpicked production team.”

“David Crosby recounted, ‘The whole thing, the recording of American Dream, it got stretched out. And we did not have, really, the best group of songs to work with. Then, even though we did not have enough good songs, we ended up putting fourteen of them on the album! I think that was stupid.’ For the first time in the group’s history, none of the songs from a studio album became standard items in the group’s live repertoire.”

Do you remember American Dream? Are you a CSNY fan? GRADE: C

TRACK LIST:

American Dream	3:15
		Got It Made	4:36
		Name Of Love	4:28
		Don’t Say Goodbye	4:23
		This Old House	4:44
		Nighttime For The Generals	4:20
		Shadowland	4:33
		Drivin’ Thunder	3:12
		Clear Blue Skies	3:05
		That Girl	3:27
		Compass	5:19
		Soldiers Of Peace	3:43
		Feel Your Love	4:09
		Night Song	4:17

Credits (14)

Damon Knight is best known as a Science Fiction writer and a gifted editor.  Knight edited dozens of SF anthologies.  But, just by chance, I came across Westerns of the 40s: Classics From the Great Pulps published by Bobbs Merrill in 1977.

It shouldn’t surprise you that two writers, best known for their Science Fiction writing, should show up in this Western anthology: Murran Leinster and Clifford D. Simak.  Simak’s story concerns a crusading editor of a small newspaper.  Simak worked in the newspaper trade for years so this story sounded genuine all the way through.      Murray Leinster shows up with three stories full of gunplay, hijinks,  and action.  GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS;

Gun-devil of red God desert / by Tom Roan – 1

Boss of buckskin empire / by Cliff Farrell – 32

Good-by, mimbres kid / by Frank Bonham – 57

Bearhide’s moonshine war / by Roy M. O’Mara – 70

Teetotal and the six-gun spirits / by Murray Leinster – 83

Flatwheel draws the line / by Tom W. Blackburn – 94

The line camp terror / by Walt Coburn – 108

Hell trail pilgrim / by Murray Leinster – 136

The parson of owlhoot junction / by Charles W. Tyler – 148

Trail city’s hot-lead crusaders / by Clifford D. Simak – 180

Crazy springs’ write-in vote / by Roy M. O’Mara – 214

Col. Colt buys a border herd / by Bennett Foster – 236

The corpse rides at dawn / by John D. MacDonald –250

The long arm of the law / by James Shaffer – 273

By the guns forgot / by Murray Leinster – 298

Deadman’s derringers / by Tom W. Blackburn – 322

Having a 3-year-old in our house for a few days during the run-up to the Solar Eclipse completely changed our TV viewing habits. My niece from Virginia’s daughter, Madi, loves Disney+ and especially loves the animated musical movie, Wish. Wish was in the movie theaters in November 2023, Although Wish earned $254 million at the Box Office, it was considered a flop since it cost $200 million to make. Reviews were mixed.

Wish is a story of a 17-year-old girl named Asha (Ariana DeBose) who lives in the magical Kingdom of Rosas. Asha makes a passionate plea to the stars in a moment of need. This results in Asha meeting a living, magic Star which has fallen from the sky.

The ruler of Rosas is King Magnifico (Chris Pine). Magnifico, corrupted by the dark magic, intends to use Star’s magic and Rosas’ wishes to increase his own magical powers to rule Rosas without opposition. 

I don’t know how much of the plot would make sense to a 3-year-old, but the music is catchy, there are plenty of cute animated animals cavorting around on the TV screen, and of course, Asha is a nifty Disney Princess. Disney+ reported 13.2 million views of Wish the first five days on the streaming service. GRADE: B-

The seventh mystery in the Vinyl Detective series finds our narrator and his Special Forces trained lover, Nevada, hired to find Lambert Ramkin, a quirky but famous performer of 1990s techno and ambient music. Ramkin was the leader of Imperium Dart, a group of three women and himself who are now legends in the musical genre. The search leads from Ramkin’s palatial home in Kent to various vinyl sales sites across England (Ramkin collects vinyl records).

John Fowles’ 1965 novel of bending Reality, The Magus, factors into Noise Floor as strange pranks (I liked the Time Travel one best) happen to the Vinyl Detective and Nevada. Is Lambert Ramkin dead or alive? Who would want to kill a musician from the 1990s? Who would want to dose the Vinyl Detective with psychedelic drugs?

The answers to these questions show up in a surprising conclusion. Noise Floor is one of the best books in this series! GRADE: A-

THE VINYL DETECTIVE SERIES:

1 Written in Dead Wax (2016)
2 The Run-Out Groove (2017)
3 Victory Disc (2018)
4 Flip Back (2019)
5 Low Action (2020)
6 Attack and Decay (2022)
7 Noise Floor (2024)

Maeve Higgins, a comedian who grew up in Ireland but now lives in Brooklyn, delivers an entertaining series of pieces about her life and interests. “Lean on Me” shows how Higgins got through the Pandemic. “Bubbles and Planks” explores Higgins’ long struggle with depression. “New York, Fair or No Fair” starts with “One of three New Yorkers are immigrants.” (p. 177) Then Higgins goes on to celebrate the city she loves.

While Higgins includes plenty of humor in her stories, each of her essays tackles a serious topic. For example, the title of Maeve Higgins’ Tell Everyone On This Train I Love Them” comes from a tragic story:

“A man did a terrible thing on a train one: he attacked two teenage girls. This happened in Portland, Oregon, in 2017. He was a hight nationalist, and on of the girls was Black, the other in a hijab. Then there other men on th same trail did a beautiful thing: they stop up to the attacker and saved the girls. The attacker killed tow of those men with a knife and injured the third. One of men he killed was a gentle-looking twenty-three-year-old named Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche…. [A ] passenger told reporters afterward that he said, ‘Tell everyone on this train I love them.'” (p. 202)

Diane listens to Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me on National Public Radio each week and Maeve Higgins is a frequent guest. Higgins may be funny at times, but she has a very Serious Side. GRADE: B+

Table of Contents:

Lean on Me 1

Bubbles and Planks 19

Good Acting 41

Misneach and Rumors of War 57

Situational Awareness 85

Death Tax 113

The Innocents 141

New York, Fair or No Fair 171

Notes and Acknowledgments 205

In 2001, the Homeless World Cup was established. Each year, 70 teams of homeless men and women from all over the planet compete for world-wide recognition and to display their skills at “The Beautiful Game” of soccer.

When I first started watching this movie, I was unsure if the Homeless World Cup was a Real Thing. At the end of the movie, the credits rolled and, yes, this yearly competition is a Real Thing. It has helped 1.2 million homeless people come out of the shadows to participate in this universal street soccer event.

How did I not know about it before this???

Bill Nighy plays the coach of the Homeless Soccer team from England. All of his team struggles with problems–gambling addiction, drug addiction, abuse, depression, anxiety issues–but Nighy manages to meld these misfits into a credible team. Nighy also reaches out to a young man who is living in his car, pretending NOT to be a homeless person. Vinny Walker (Michael Ward) has excellent soccer skills, but is not a team player. It takes all of Nighy’s persuasion to get Vinny to travel with the team to Italy for the competition.

Despite continuing problems, Nighy’s team becomes one you can root for as the reasons for each member’s homelessness is revealed. Yes, my eyes got misty a few times.

Director Thea Sharrock and Screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce capture the highs and lows of troubled people trying to excel at what might be a life-changing experience. The Beautiful Game is not your typical sports movie. I’m not a soccer fan, but I got a kick out of The Beautiful Game. GRADE: B+