Atlas of Finance: Mapping the Global Story of Money

by Dariusz Wójcik, Oliver Uberti (Illustrator), James Cheshire (Illustrator)

A unique illustrated exploration of the development of finance that combines data from every part of the world and covers five thousand years of history

“The book is a lot of fun. Data-fixated readers will enjoy unpicking its main content: a series of elegantly produced maps, graphs and other visualisations. These are eclectic in scope and ambitious in intent.”—Jonathan Guthrie, Financial Times

From the emergence of money in the ancient world to today’s interconnected landscape of high-frequency trading and cryptocurrency, the story of finance has always taken place on an international stage. Finance is one of the most globalized and networked of human activities, and one of the most important social technologies ever invented.

This volume, the first visually based book dedicated to finance, uses graphics and maps to bring the complex and abstract world of finance down to earth, showing how geography is fundamental for understanding finance, and vice versa. It illuminates the people—including Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes—who have shaped our thinking about global finance; brings to life the ways that place-specific histories, laws, regulations, and institutions influence finance; shows how finance relates to innovation, globalization, and environmental change; and details how finance plays a key part in drawing the landscape of uneven development, inequality, and instability.

The Atlas of Finance, with word and image, will change the way you view both your money and your world.

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Business, Social Science

240 pages, Hardcover

Published September 10, 2024

Reviews

[Walter Ullon · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a practicing data scientist, I spend a significant amount of time creating visualizations to efficiently communicate results, reveal relationships, and surface insights. Despite my confidence in my own work, I felt like a complete chump after reading The Atlas of Finance—it truly sets the gold standard for the visual presentation of information.

If you've ever wanted to travel through history and experience the evolution of economics and finance through stunning infographics, this book is for you. It covers everything from the early history of money and the birth of economic theories to speculative bubbles and the rise of modern financial superpowers—each page is a journey in itself.

I'll definitely be revisiting it for inspiration.
Highest possible recommendation.

[Boudewijn Hogeboom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erg boeiend, tal van financiële begrippen, historie en praktijken worden in fraaie grafieken en plaatsjes letterlijk ‘op de kaart’ gezet. Een spread per thema. Voorkennis helpt omdat de thema’s wel heel beknopt worden neergezet.

[Lorenz · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who reads and listens to a lot of business and economic news, I would admit that there were a lot of stuff that I still didn't understand. That is why i am very thankful to this book for helping me learn tons of stuff that are very much relevant today. With its amazing data and statistical information, as well as wonderful illustrations and graphs, It even helped me learn new stuff about things that i think i already know. There are topics of course that I wish was covered more in depth (such as the, Asian Financial Crisis, the 2008 Financial Crisis and the Eurozone Crisis), as well as stuff that i think were missing (no specific discussion of the 1928 Wall Street Crash or the Black Wednesday 1992 Sterling Crisis). Yet, I would still have given this a five star instead of four if not for the glaring error in one of the pages where it stated that the United States, Japan and Australia sanctioned South Vietnam in 1975 (what they actually sanctioned was the unified Vietnam and not South Vietnam.) Such a glaring error of course would leave readers like me wondering, if there are other small errors in the book that he or she just read but hasn't spotted yet. Nevertheless, overall still a great book overall. Highly recommended.

[Ryan Baese · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a high school economics teacher I’m always looking for cool and engaging infographics. This book is loaded with stunning visuals. The authors and designers do a great job of telling a complex and important story in way that appeals to beginners and experts alike. I’m stocking up copies to give as gifts for the holiday season! Loved this!

[alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a super interesting read and the infographics were stellar but just overall a bit too dense for my layman brain.

[Ann Deraedt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ik hou van de moderne visualisaties - grafieken en infographics - die in het boek staan. Het boek is overzichtelijk gemaakt zodat ik zin heb om ook de geschiedenis te lezen.

[3thn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book a lot - but very perplexed not a single mention of crypto or blockchains or bitcoin

[RYAN PHAM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice infographics