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'A brilliantly readable account, based on exceptional access, of the transformation of the old Quaker bank into a hard-charging capitalist adventurer ... both a thriller and a reminder that business is fascinating because all human life is there' John Plender, Financial Times

Based on unparalleled access to those involved, and told with compelling pace and drama, The Bank that Lived a Little describes three decades of boardroom intrigue at one of Britain's biggest financial institutions. In a tale of feuds, grandiose dreams and a struggle for supremacy between rival strategies and their adherents, Philip Augar gives a riveting account of Barclays' journey from an old Quaker bank to a full-throttle capitalist machine. The disagreement between those ambitious for Barclays to join the top table of global banks, and those preferring a smaller domestic role more in keeping with the bank's traditions, cost three chief executives their jobs and continues to divide opinion within Barclays, the City and beyond.

This is an extraordinary corporate thriller, which among much else describes how Barclays came to buy Lehman Brothers for a bargain price in 2008, why it was so keen to avoid taking government funding during the financial crisis, and the price shareholders have paid for a decade of barely controlled ambition. But Augar also shows how Barclays' experiences are a paradigm for Britain's social and economic life over thirty years, which saw the City move from the edge of the economy to its very centre. These decades created unprecedented prosperity for a tiny number, and made the reputations of governments and individuals but then left many of them in tatters.

The leveraged society, the winner-takes-all mentality and our present era of austerity can all be traced to the influence of banks such as Barclays. Augar's book tells this rollercoaster story from the perspective of many of its participants - and also of those affected by the grip they came to have on Britain. He tells the financial story of our age -- Alec Russell * Financial Times * A brilliantly readable account, based on exceptional access to most of those involved, of the transformation of the old Quaker bank into a hard-charging capitalist adventurer. ... Philip Augar's book is both a thriller and a reminder that business is fascinating because all human life is there. -- John Plender * Financial Times * A riveting and revealing account of how a bank of high moral character with Quaker origins ended up in the sewer thanks to ambition and greed. -- Iain Martin * The Times * Once you start reading Philip Augar's well-researched book, you are captivated. ... What makes The Bank That Lived a Little a must-read is the way in which, in its pages, Barclays comes to embody all that has been, and possibly still is, wrong with the entire banking sector. -- Vicky Pryce * Literary Review *

The Bank That Lived a Little: Barclays in the Age of the Very Free Market