Case study · Pugnare
A self-published history of Roman economics, on the Financial Times' Christmas list
We turned Dr George Maher's book on the Roman economy into a financial-press story: the FT's Christmas books, The Week's best business books of 2021, the MoneyWeek podcast and No. 1 in its Amazon category.
pieces of coverage
outlets and editions
in its Amazon category
audience reach*
Where Pugnare ran
The Christmas list · 3 Dec 2021
One of five books the FT told its readers to buy for Christmas
“Fabulous … one to give to anyone you would like to be less blasé about the resilience of our institutions.”
Merryn Somerset Webb’s FT column picked five books of Christmas reading to challenge the way people think about money and ownership. MoneyWeek, which she edited, ran the same column a week later, and on 13 December The Week put Pugnare in its ten best business books of 2021.
313,581 → 3,626
Amazon bestseller rank, 3 to 5 December 2021, the weekend the FT list ran.
1 of 5
The campaign’s cast
Five leaders in togas
In February 2021 we commissioned the political cartoonist Ollie Cameron to put five world leaders in Roman dress for the book’s launch advertising on LinkedIn and Facebook. The same faces ran through the news hooks for the op-eds we placed for Dr Maher that year.
Caricatures of Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, Ursula von der Leyen, Joe Biden and Donald Trump in Roman dress.
Boris Johnson
Prime Minister
“Actually, Prime Minister, Rome collapsed because of financial mismanagement – sound familiar?”1828 and Comment Central, Nov 2021
Rishi Sunak
Chancellor
“A Blueprint for the Future: A Roman Budget fit for Pandemic Britain”Business Matters, 12 Feb 2021
Ursula von der Leyen
European Commission
Drawn for the launch advertising.
Joe Biden
President
“Like the Romans, the West’s Middle East humiliation signals its decline”CapX, 31 Aug 2021
Donald Trump
Former President
“Is Donald Trump the modern-day ‘Gladiator Emperor’?”Reaction, 2 Mar 2021
The launch advert
The 15-second LinkedIn and Facebook advert, March 2021: the cast walks on one at a time beside the book. Illustration and animation by Ollie Cameron.
On air
Heard on CapX and MoneyWeek
What the coverage did on Amazon
Three spikes, three placements
Pugnare’s overall bestseller rank on Amazon UK, on every weekday we recorded it from July 2021 to April 2023. A lower rank is better, so the scale runs upside down, and it is logarithmic: each gridline is ten times the one above.
No. 1
in Political Economy, 22 Sep 2021, after GB News
3,626
overall, 5 Dec 2021, two days after the FT Christmas list. It was 313,581 on 3 Dec.
3,222
overall, 19 Dec 2022, after Jeremy Warner's Telegraph column on debasing the coinage
The book and its coverage
One book, 38 pieces
The book
Pugnare: Economic Success and Failure
Dr. George Maher · Kilnamanagh
Dr. Maher's thesis: the Roman Empire's economic trajectory holds the key to understanding modern monetary debasement, inflation and investor confidence, and his argument landed exactly where it needed to.
The chart positions, as reported
Christmas books in Merryn Somerset Webb's Financial Times column.
The Week's ten best business books of 2021.
In Political Economy on Amazon UK.
February 2021 to September 2021 · 10 pieces
September 2021 to December 2021 · 10 pieces
January 2022 to July 2022 · 9 pieces
August 2022 to December 2022 and 2 undated pieces · 9 pieces
The placement that made it
The brief
The brief
Bridgehead was appointed to promote Pugnare through the media and position Dr. Maher as a credible commentator on contemporary economic challenges, translating Roman economic history into timely commentary for financial journalists and investors.
A book by mathematician and entrepreneur Dr. George Maher exploring the economic drivers behind the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, drawing parallels with modern financial systems and monetary policy.
Objectives
- 01Raise awareness of Pugnare among financial and policy audiences.
- 02Position Dr. Maher as a commentator on modern monetary policy.
- 03Draw links between Roman economic history and present-day financial issues.
- 04Promote the book through business, financial and broadcast media.
The approach
How we approached it
A media engagement programme drawing parallels between Pugnare's themes and live financial debates, from currency debasement to quantitative easing, to make a historical work feel essential reading.
Timely economic hooks
We aligned Dr. Maher's commentary with live debates on currency debasement and quantitative easing, securing interviews and opinion placements timed to real financial news moments.
IEA, then MoneyWeek, then the FT
An IEA essay on Rome and quantitative easing was excerpted in MoneyWeek a week later. We led our pitch to MoneyWeek's editor, Merryn Somerset Webb, with that excerpt; by December the book was in her FT Christmas column and Dr Maher was on her podcast.
Cross-platform broadcast
We secured a GB News interview with Liam Halligan and a Jeremy Warner column in The Telegraph, taking the book from specialist to mass financial audiences. Both sent its Amazon rank into the low thousands.
Selected coverage
Here are the coverage highlights
The cascade
An IEA essay, a MoneyWeek excerpt, then the FT: nine weeks from think tank to Christmas list
Dr Maher's IEA essay on the perils of quantitative easing ran on 28 September 2021. MoneyWeek excerpted it a week later, and our podcast pitch to its editor led with that. On 3 December she named Pugnare one of five Christmas books in her Financial Times column; the MoneyWeek podcast and The Week's ten best business books of 2021 followed within ten days. The FT list moved the book from 313,581st to 3,626th on Amazon in two days.
The outcome
38 pieces in 27 outlets, No. 1 in its Amazon category and a place on the FT's Christmas list, with MoneyWeek, City AM, The Telegraph and GB News all running the story.
The impact
- 01Named one of five Christmas books in the Financial Times, 3 December 2021.
- 02Included in The Week's ten best business books of 2021.
- 03No. 1 in Political Economy on Amazon UK, 22 September 2021, after Dr Maher's GB News interview.
- 04Dr Maher established as a commentator on monetary policy across the FT, The Telegraph, City AM, MoneyWeek and the Daily Express.
Every piece
All the coverage
DA 94
UNITED KINGDOM
Like ancient Rome, we have debased the coinage and will now pay the price
DA 19
UNITED KINGDOM
How The Romans Handled Interest Rate Decision
DA 43UNITED KINGDOM
Business Books: PUGNARE– Economic Success And Failure
DA 55
UNITED KINGDOM
Why the Romans would not have invested in liability-driven investment strategies which nearly destroyed our pension funds
DA 43
UNITED KINGDOM
Chancellor's Target Of 2.5%pa If Achieved, Will See A Doubling Of GDP In 30 Years.
Institute of Economic AffairsDA 65
UNITED KINGDOM
‘Levelling up’ and infrastructure investment: lessons from Ancient Rome?
DA 39
UNITED KINGDOM
Economic Historian Warns Over UK Quantitative Easing Programme
DA 65
UNITED KINGDOM
Our pension system, little-changed since Roman times, needs updating
DA 93
UNITED KINGDOM
Pensions — a Roman legacy needing reform
Citywire SelectorDA 48
UNITED KINGDOM
How cryptocurrency could have saved the Roman Empire
DA 84
UNITED KINGDOM
The Roman Empire has a lesson for Andrew Bailey on devaluing a currency
DA 93
UNITED KINGDOM
Putin stakes Russia’s economic foundation on imperial ambitions, says GEORGE MAHER
DA 88
UNITED STATES
Digital Denarius: How a crypto revolution could have saved the Roman Empire
DA 33
Cómo una revolución criptográfica podría haber salvado al Imperio Romano – Cripto noticias del Mundo
DA 79
UNITED STATES
How the Roman Empire Provided the Founding Fathers a Blueprint for America’s Economy
ReactionDA 56
UNITED KINGDOM
Beyond Bitcoin review – are we approaching the financial revolution?
DA 65
UNITED KINGDOM
Nine of the most interesting conversations we had in 2021
DA 86
UNITED KINGDOM
Ten best business books of 2021
DA 65
UNITED KINGDOM
George Maher: what we can learn from the fall of the Roman Empire
DA 93
UNITED KINGDOM
Taking ownership — but what actually belongs to you?
DA 39
UNITED KINGDOM
Actually, Prime Minister, Rome collapsed because of financial mismanagement. Sound familiar?
DA 35
UNITED KINGDOM
Actually, Prime Minister, Rome collapsed because of financial mismanagement – sound familiar?
DA 66
UNITED STATES
The Roman Empire Reminds Us That Confidence In the Currency Is Crucial
DA 61
UNITED KINGDOM
The CapX Podcast: The economics of ancient Rome with George Maher
DA 66UNITED KINGDOM
Best of the blogs
Institute of Economic AffairsDA 65
UNITED KINGDOM
Lessons from Ancient Rome about the perils of quantitative easing
(headline unavailable)
DA 61
UNITED KINGDOM
Like the Romans, the West’s Middle East humiliation signals its decline
Pugnare: Economic Success and Failure
DA 61
UNITED KINGDOM
England V Italy 43AD – football and the echoes of ancient history
DA 35
UNITED KINGDOM
The collapse of Labour’s ‘Red Wall’ signals the Party’s decline. Just ask the Romans.
DA 69Could a cryptocurrency revolution have saved the Roman Empire?
ReactionDA 56
UNITED KINGDOM
Could a cryptocurrency revolution have saved the Roman Empire?
DA 28
UNITED KINGDOM
Pugnare - George Maher’s lessons from the economic collapse of Rome
ReactionDA 56
UNITED KINGDOM
Is Donald Trump the modern-day ‘Gladiator Emperor’?
DA 62
UNITED KINGDOM
A Blueprint for the Future: A Roman Budget fit for Pandemic Britain
DA 8
PUGNARE : Economic Success and Failure by GEORGE MAHER
DA 85
Why the Romans were Rich and what went Wrong: An Interview with Dr. George Maher, Author of Pugnare
The results, 2021-02 to 2022-12
38 pieces across 2 countries
continents
broadcast hits
estimated readers*
*audience reach and estimated readers, Portal Coverage Builder, September 2026. Portal Coverage Builder: one audience-reach figure per outlet domain (the maximum reported), summed across every domain; estimated readers is the sum of views across every piece. Figures reproduce the portal's own method exactly; a title that carries several pieces is counted once for reach (its highest reported figure) but every piece counts toward readers.
PIECES PER MONTH, 2021-02 TO 2022-12
The December 2021 spike of 4 pieces is the busiest month in the book. Months with no coverage stay at zero. 2 pieces carry no publication date, sit outside this chart and are marked undated in the index.
On air
1 broadcast and video item from 1 broadcaster.
BitChute
“Why the Romans were Rich and what went Wrong: An Interview with Dr. George Maher, Author of Pugnare”
Video, undated
Index of coverage
All 38 pieces, by country
United Kingdom
29 pieces · 19 outletsThe Telegraph Like ancient Rome, we have debased the coinage and will now pay the price · United Kingdom
17 Dec 2022
Lancashire Times How The Romans Handled Interest Rate Decision · United Kingdom
7 Nov 2022
Yorkshire Times Business Books: PUGNARE– Economic Success And Failure · United Kingdom
29 Oct 2022
Fortune Herald Why the Romans would not have invested in liability-driven investment strategies which nearly destroyed our pension funds · United Kingdom
10 Oct 2022
Yorkshire Times Chancellor's Target Of 2.5%pa If Achieved, Will See A Doubling Of GDP In 30 Years. · United Kingdom
27 Sep 2022
Institute of Economic Affairs ‘Levelling up’ and infrastructure investment: lessons from Ancient Rome? · United Kingdom
22 Sep 2022
WealthBriefing Economic Historian Warns Over UK Quantitative Easing Programme · United Kingdom
8 Aug 2022
MoneyWeek Our pension system, little-changed since Roman times, needs updating · United Kingdom
25 Jul 2022
Financial Times Pensions — a Roman legacy needing reform · United Kingdom
21 Jul 2022
Citywire Selector How cryptocurrency could have saved the Roman Empire · United Kingdom
1 Jul 2022
City AM The Roman Empire has a lesson for Andrew Bailey on devaluing a currency · United Kingdom
24 Jun 2022
Daily Express Putin stakes Russia’s economic foundation on imperial ambitions, says GEORGE MAHER · United Kingdom
10 Mar 2022
Reaction Beyond Bitcoin review – are we approaching the financial revolution? · United Kingdom
8 Jan 2022
United Kingdom, continued
MoneyWeek Nine of the most interesting conversations we had in 2021 · United Kingdom
29 Dec 2021
The Week Ten best business books of 2021 · United Kingdom
13 Dec 2021
MoneyWeek George Maher: what we can learn from the fall of the Roman Empire · United Kingdom
10 Dec 2021
Financial Times Taking ownership — but what actually belongs to you? · United Kingdom
3 Dec 2021
Comment Central Actually, Prime Minister, Rome collapsed because of financial mismanagement. Sound familiar? · United Kingdom
12 Nov 2021
1828 Actually, Prime Minister, Rome collapsed because of financial mismanagement – sound familiar? · United Kingdom
10 Nov 2021
CapX The CapX Podcast: The economics of ancient Rome with George Maher · United Kingdom
15 Oct 2021
MoneyWeek (magazine edition) Best of the blogs · United Kingdom
4 Oct 2021
Institute of Economic Affairs Lessons from Ancient Rome about the perils of quantitative easing · United Kingdom
28 Sep 2021
CapX Like the Romans, the West’s Middle East humiliation signals its decline · United Kingdom
31 Aug 2021
CapX England V Italy 43AD – football and the echoes of ancient history · United Kingdom
8 Jul 2021
1828 The collapse of Labour’s ‘Red Wall’ signals the Party’s decline. Just ask the Romans. · United Kingdom
28 May 2021
Reaction Could a cryptocurrency revolution have saved the Roman Empire? · United Kingdom
3 May 2021
United Kingdom, continued
Entirely Finance Pugnare - George Maher’s lessons from the economic collapse of Rome · United Kingdom
18 Mar 2021
Reaction Is Donald Trump the modern-day ‘Gladiator Emperor’? · United Kingdom
2 Mar 2021
Business Matters A Blueprint for the Future: A Roman Budget fit for Pandemic Britain · United Kingdom
12 Feb 2021
United States
3 pieces · 3 outletsCointelegraph Digital Denarius: How a crypto revolution could have saved the Roman Empire · United States
30 Jan 2022
Foundation for Economic Education How the Roman Empire Provided the Founding Fathers a Blueprint for America’s Economy · United States
16 Jan 2022
RealClearMarkets The Roman Empire Reminds Us That Confidence In the Currency Is Crucial · United States
17 Oct 2021
No fixed newsroom
6 pieces · 5 outletsNoticias del Mundo Cómo una revolución criptográfica podría haber salvado al Imperio Romano – Cripto noticias del Mundo
30 Jan 2022
YouTube (headline unavailable)
27 Sep 2021
YouTube Pugnare: Economic Success and Failure
16 Aug 2021
EconoTimes Could a cryptocurrency revolution have saved the Roman Empire?
7 May 2021
BitChute Why the Romans were Rich and what went Wrong: An Interview with Dr. George Maher, Author of Pugnare video
undated
The Week Bookshop PUGNARE : Economic Success and Failure by GEORGE MAHER
undated
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