First published as: The summit : the biggest battle of the Second World War : fought behind closed doors. London : Little, Brown, 2014.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 413-438) and index.

The Mount Washington -- Collapse. The bitter peace ; A short history of gold ; Economic consequences -- Making plans. Lunatic proposals ; Bedlam ; The wrong Harry White ; Snakebite party ; Babel on wheels -- The summit. Week one ; Week two ; Week three -- The life and death of Bretton Woods. Unmitigated evil ; Starvation corner ; Onward Christian soldiers ; The Bretton Woods system.

The idea of world leaders gathering in the midst of economic crisis has become all too familiar. But the meeting at Bretton Woods in 1944 was different. It was the only time countries from around the world have agreed to overhaul the structure of the international monetary system. Against all odds, they were successful. The system they set up presided over the longest, strongest and most stable period of growth the world economy has ever seen. Its demise some decades later was at least partly responsible for the periodic economic crises that culminated in the financial collapse of the 2000s. But what everyone has always assumed to be a dry economic conference was in fact replete with drama. The delegates spent half the time at each other's throats and the other half drinking in the hotel bar. The Russians nearly capsized the entire project. The French threatened to walk out, repeatedly. All the while war in Europe raged on.