BOOK REVIEW: CONFISCATION

Confiscation: Gold as Contraband 1933-1974 by Kenneth R. Ferguson was a pleasure to read. Ferguson writes very well. I met Ken Ferguson in person last weekend at a coin show here in Austin. He speaks as intelligently as he writes. Our time together was enlightening.

The book provides a close and yet conversational examination of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s executive orders and the related Congressional acts that became laws. Few people ever get past citing Executive Order 6102 and most often stop short of fully citing and discussing that document. This book delivers the facts.

Ferguson tells the whole story, going past 6102 to the subsequent orders and laws. He lays out carefully and logically the many relevant details that highlight this singular event. He examines the public response. He explains how and why Britain, France, and Switzerland returned to striking gold coins after World War II using dies from previous years.

As a nod to the bibliophiles here, I note that the book is set in 11-point Garamond, which the user experience designers here in Austin assure me is the new standard in Roman (serif) fonts.

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
NEW BOOK: CONFISCATION: GOLD AS CONTRABAND (http://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n12a04.html)
BOOK REVIEW: CONFISCATION (http://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n15a05.html)

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