The End of Alchemy

The former Governor of the Bank of England on the alchemy at the centre of banking — turning illiquid long assets into money-good short liabilities — and why he thinks the 2008 crisis was a symptom of that design rather than of bad actors.

Why it’s on the list: Named in the replies to @WillManidis asking for the single best book that explains an entire industry — a crowd-sourced list Kyle recovered by hand and saved. A central banker explaining banking from the inside.

Where I saw it: In the replies to @WillManidis asking “what is the single best book you can read that will explain an entire industry?” (June 2, 2025). Kyle recovered the reply list by hand and saved it to his “Books To Read” Apple Note; the full transcribed list lives on what is the single best book… (tweet).

Connections

• what is the single best book… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.
• Finance — the industry the book explains.
• Capital Allocation — the portfolio idea this sits closest to.