'The Ascent of Money'

If you feel that you need to take a step back from the current financial abyss and want to read a broad history on how the financial world has evolved, I would recommend that you get your hands on a copy of this book by Niall Ferguson.

The main appeal of the book is in its educational content. If you have the desire to learn more about the components of finance, in terms of how credit, insurance, banking, property and bonds have 'developed' over the years, this will probably whet your apetite for further information.

It is aimed at those who have a basic knowledge of how 'money' works and I found it entertaining from the point of view of its combination of History & Finance. There was also a TV Series of the same name but I have not seen it.