Britain's rise to global dominance from the 16th century owed as much to the vision and creativity of traders, industrialists and bankers as it did to wars of conquest fought by military men.

DRAGONS tells the story of British business endeavour through the lives of ten titans of commerce. Beginning with the Tudor merchants who transformed England's economy via trade with the New World, Liam Byrne traces an entrepreneurial golden line through men such as Thomas Pitt, saviour of the East India Company; financier Nathan Rothschild, creator of the modern bond market; William Lever, brand-builder, philanthropist, and creator of Britain's first great multinational; and John Spedan Lewis, founder of the employee-owned John Lewis Partnership.

At the start of the 21st century Britain remains a major economic power. DRAGONS is both a rousing celebration of British business genius and a fascinatingly informative narrative of a neglected but essential strand of our island's story.

'A great history of Britain's buccaneers, wealth creators and adventurers ... Brilliantly connects past to present' Tristram Hunt.
'[A] whistle-stop account of some of Britain's greatest entrepreneurs and deal-makers ... Leaves you longing to know more' The Times.
'Liam Byrne's compelling history recounts Britain's past as a pointer to what must be Britain's future' Phil Collins, The Times.
'Written with infectious enthusiasm, Dragons brings to new perspectives on Britain's entrepreneurs. Economic history needs such a fresh and original approach' Sir Roderick Floud, co-editor, Cambridge Economic History.

Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP is a former Cabinet minister, writer and reformer. A technology entrepreneur before entering politics, he was a Fulbright Scholar at the Harvard Business School.