Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men who Stole the World [Paperback]

`This unlikely page-turner slots neatly into a new genre that has emerged since the credit crunch' --Sunday Times: Culture

`an absolutely riveting book.' --The Herald, January 11, 2011

`The excellent Treasure Islands . . . Shaxson comes as close to anyone ever has in getting to the crux of the tax haven conundrum, which is to attempt to answer the question: why are they tolerated?' --Evening Standard, January 18, 2011

'Shaxson does an outstanding and socially valuable job in penetrating the impenetrable and finds a deeply shocking world.' --Nicholas Stern

'At last, a readable - indeed gripping - book which explains the nuts and bolts of tax havens. More importantly, it lays bare the mechanism that financial capital has been using to stay in charge: capturing government policy-making around the world, shaking off such irritants as democracy and the rule of law, and making sure that suckers like you and me pay for its operators' opulent lifestyles' --Misha Glenny, author of McMafia

'Treasure Islands is the best book on tax havens, ever. It shines a light in some very dark places. It reads like a thriller. The shocking thing is, it's all true. The world's suppliers of corruption services - the bankers, lawyers and accountants working from tax havens - won't want you to read this book. Which is exactly why you should' --Richard Murphy, Director of Tax Research UK

'The struggle against money power is a struggle for human freedom, and Nicholas Shaxson's investigation is a timely exposé of where the plunder is buried' --John Pilger, broadcaster and author of Heroes

'Far more than an exposé, Treasure Islands is a brilliantly illuminating, forensic analysis of where economic power really lies, and the shockingly corrupt way in which it behaves. If you're wondering how ordinary people ended up paying for a crisis caused by the reckless greed of the banking industry, this compellingly readable book provides the answers'
--David Wearing, co-editor of New Left Project

'They who sold us globalisation as a way of the whole world getting richer with fair rules, cheated us by letting the rich and powerful go "offshore". This gripping exposé should help end the scandal' --Anthony Barnett, founder of openDemocracy

'In this riveting, well-written expose, Shaxson goes deep into the largely unexamined realm of offshore money. In the process, he reveals that this shadow world is no mere sideshow, but is troublingly central to modern finance, with the US and the UK as leaders. The resulting abuses are widespread, ranging from tax revenue stripping from African nations to individuals and corporations escaping enforcement and accountability. A must read for anyone who wants to understand the hidden reasons why financial services firms have become so powerful and impossible to reform' --Yves Smith, creator of Naked Capitalism and author of Econned

'Shaxson combines meticulous research with amusing anecdotes, resulting in a very readable account of the murky world of offshore and a strong moral message that the system needs to be changed' --Financial Times

'Perhaps the most important book published in the UK so far this year' --George Mombiot, Guardian

'He has prised the lid off an important and terrifying can of worms'
--Martin Vander Weyer, Literary Review

'lively and well-written book' --Daily Mail

I am sure everybody knows it but the book by Nick Shaxson, Treasure Islands, is really an utterly superb book. --Jeffrey Sachs

"Shaxson delves into capitalism's secret nooks and tells us about how a culture of secrecy can perpetuate itself. Very interesting." --The Evening Standard, William Leith, January 2012

"A compelling read [...] an important and very much alive topic, it'll take you a few hours to read the book but it will be a worthwhile investment of time."
--The Bookbag, Peter McGee, January 2012

This is the ugliest chapter in global economic affairs since slavery - and secretive offshore tax havens are at the heart of the trouble.