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The History of Money: A Story of Humanity
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About This Book
In this fresh, eye-opening global history, economist David McWilliams charts the relationship between humans and money—from clay tablets in Mesopotamia to cryptocurrency in Silicon Valley.The story of humanity is inextricable from that of money. No innovation has defined our own evolution so thoroughly and changed the direction of our planet's history so dramatically. And yet despite money's primacy, most of us don't truly understand it. As leading economist David McWilliams shows, money is central to every aspect of our civilization, from the political to the artistic. "Money defines the relationship between worker and employer, buyer and seller, merchant and producer. But not only it also defines the bond between the governed and the governor, the state and the citizen. Money unlocks pleasure, puts a price on desire, art and creativity. It motivates us to strive, achieve, invent and take risks. Money also brings out humanity's darker side, invoking greed, envy, hatred, violence and, of course, colonialism." In The History of Money, McWilliams takes us across the world, from the birthplace of money in ancient Babylon to the beginning of trade along the Silk Road, from Marrakech markets to Wall Street. Along the way, we meet a host of innovators, emperors, frauds, and speculators, who have disrupted society and transformed the way we live. Filled with memorable anecdotes, and with a foreword by Michael Lewis, The History of Money is an essential, extremely readable history of humanity's most consequential invention.
Reviews
"The argument doesn't altogether convince, but McWilliams...does know how to write."
"Not an encyclopedic volume, but an opinionated, irreverent parsing of currency's charms."
"Enjoyable and insightful ..."
"An absolute romp through history, with money—its uses and misuses—as the throughline."
"A fabulous read but its real importance lies in the questions it raises about the future shape of our societies."
"McWilliams provides enlightening particulars about how political figures through time, such as Roman Emperor Vespasian and radical French Bishop Talleyrand, became pioneers in monetary policy through the issuance of credit and government-backed bonds."
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