Hubert Howe Bancroft's 10-volume BOOK OF WEALTH explores the origins and influence of wealth, from the earliest civilizations to the dawn of the Twentieth Century. The books offer an in-depth look at the history of economics and finance relative to the history of the human race, and include Bancroft's extraordinary insights into the psychology of economic exchange as he examines the individuals, organizations and nations that have attained great wealth. In Book Five, Bancroft details the rise of Germany, from a disorganized collection of warring tribes to its position as the foremost military power on the European continent. He discusses Denmark, Norway and Sweden, home to Viking marauders whose seagoing exploits and explorations touched most of the ancient world - including North America. Finally, Bancroft takes a hard look at Russia, with its sprawling landscape and vast wealth of untapped resources; even predicting the bloody Russian Revolution - almost 20 years before it took place