Ahem: that's professor Niall Ferguson you're talking about! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niall_Ferguson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niall_Ferguson (One may a

Ahem: that's professor Niall Ferguson you're talking about! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niall_Ferguson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niall_Ferguson (One may argue with aspects of his outlook and analysis, and even his scholarship -- as have the likes of Paul Krugman -- but even so, he's one of the most famous historians of the current period, and an excellent prose stylist besides.)