The Euro, Italian Style.

The political pendulum in italy has swung from center-right to center-left in the country's most recent elections.  The new prime minister, Romano Prodi, successor to the controversial Silvio Berlusconi, will have a challenging task to revive the country's stumbling economy.  And how will this be accomplished?  One of the prime minister's first tasks is to choose the country's ministers.  Rumor has it that the first choice for the new minister of economy is MIT Press author
Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa.   Padoa-Schioppa's expertise comes from being involved with the European Central Bank since 1998 and the creation of the Euro, and if anyone can navigate a country through the new European economy, it will be Padoa-Schioppa. His book, The Euro and its Central Bank, is a useful guide to the Euro, and the historical process that led to Euro...and the hard test that is being faced by this young institution.  For scholars, students, and the general reader interested in central banking and modern aspects of Europe's financial system, this is a great place to start.