The Wealth of Shadows is a work of historical fiction about World War II and the hidden economic war against the Nazis. The author, Graham Moore, brings to life the drama going on in the FDR administration during a time when most Americans wanted nothing to do with the Nazi invasion of Europe. Within the Department of the Treasury was a group of people, including economists, who saw a way to defeat Hitler without a military victory.
It is a fascinating and well-written story about a young couple in Minneapolis who were frightened by the rise of Nazi sympathies in 1939 and wanted to join others who opposed Hitler and his domestic supporters. They end up in Washington, D.C., working for the federal government and find ways to influence policy. The book concludes with the Bretton Woods Conference, the establishment of the International Monetary Fund, and the creation of the World Bank. The real heroes are the economists. I highly recommend Wealth, which is the second book I’ve read by the author. The first was a Book Club selection in 2020, The Last Days of Night, also a great read.
The invaluable Author’s Notes at the end of the book include this advisory, “This book is a work of fiction, spread out on a canvas of reality.” That reality is not pretty because it involves Nazis in our own country, antisemitism, the Holocaust, war, and duplicity.