Money
A Story of Humanity
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $22.99
Publisher Description
*AS HEARD ON RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK*
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2024 NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR
A WATERSTONES NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024
‘A breathtaking, expansive and imaginative ride through the history and future of money from an author who truly understands it’ PROFESSOR BRIAN COX
‘Exceptional’ FINANCIAL TIMES
‘A cracking book that is as enjoyable as it is readable’ PETER FRANKOPAN
‘Equally entertaining and insightful’ YANIS VAROUFAKIS
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MONEY.
The object of our desires.
The engine of our genius.
Humanity’s greatest invention.
Money is everything. It brings freedom and it takes it away. It inspires and corrupts us. But what is money? Is it the main thing holding us back from utopia or is it the one constant that’s driven us to success?
In his illuminating, entertaining and often surprising book, economist David McWilliams charts the relationship between humans and money – from clay tablets in Mesopotamia to coins in Ancient Greece, from mathematics in the medieval Arab world to the French Revolution, and from the emergence of the US dollar right up to today’s cryptocurrency. Along the way, we meet a host of characters who have innovated with money, disrupting society and transforming the way we live. Like humanity, money is ever changing, adapting to its time and circumstances. The question is, over the last 5000 years, have we changed money or has money changed us?
Money tells an astonishing new story of our species. Taking the reader on an epic journey through the history of money, McWilliams reveals its fundamental role in our society.
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‘An impressive journey that fizzes with facts’ ECONOMIST
‘An eye-opening history of what makes the world go round’ EVENING STANDARD
‘David McWilliams is the best explainer of economics I know’ SIMON KUPER
‘Compelling, funny and original’ KATJA HOYER
‘If, as David McWilliams complains, economists take the fun out of money, then he is the exception that proves the rule: a man who could not write a boring sentence if he tried’ TOM HOLLAND
Customer Reviews
Priceless
The Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Samuelson once said, or is reputed to have said, “Not one man in a million understands the nature of money — and you meet him every day.” Which gives you an idea of the quality of humour that prevails among economists.
I have read, or attempted to read, many books about money, starting with the classics by Simmel (‘The Philosophy of Money,’ 1900 - gave up after two pages) and Keynes (‘Treatise on Money,’ 1930 - made it half way, almost). More recent titles include ‘Debt: The First 5,000 Years’ (2011) by David Graeber (the antonym of page turner), ‘Money Changes Everything’ (2016) by William Goetzmann (more readable), ‘Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing (2020) by Jacob Goldstein (entertaining at times, albeit not enough of them), and ‘Money in One Lesson’ (2022) by Gavin Jackson (not bad, although the title is misleading).
This book puts everything else in the shade IMO. Mr McWilliams is an Irish classical economist who has worked both as a central banker and in the financial markets. He is also the founder of ‘Kilkenomics’, the world’s first, and possibly only, festival of economics and stand-up comedy. His writing reflects this, by which I mean his style is extremely engaging, not that the book is filled with jokes. The history of economics is entertaining enough by itself when seen through the author’s gimlet eye. I learned a lot and I enjoyed it. Doesn’t get better than that.