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The Secret History of Gold: Myth, Money, Politics and Power
Brought to you by Penguin.
Gold (noun ): A precious, yellow metal, prized for its beauty. Inert, immune to corrosion, highly malleable though with little utility. Seen as pure wealth.
The definitive biography of the metal that has shaped our world – and may yet determine its fate.
The Secret History of Gold tells the epic tale of the world’s oldest, and most treasured, currency. From its origins in the formation of the solar system to its pivotal role in both ancient myth and modern finance, Dominic Frisby explores, with wit and brevity, how gold has defined the entire course of human civilisation.
Gold has inspired men to do the most brilliant – and terrible – things. The most stolen metal in history, it has lured explorers, conquerors and thieves. It has sparked wars, it has built empires, it has empowered leaders – from Alexander the Great to Adolf Hitler – good and bad. As nations today such as China and Russia mine and hoard gold at record rates, Frisby examines its enduring significance in the digital age and its potential to influence global peace and power.
This is the untold story of its past, its present and its future.
Dominic Frisby 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025
Gold (noun ): A precious, yellow metal, prized for its beauty. Inert, immune to corrosion, highly malleable though with little utility. Seen as pure wealth.
The definitive biography of the metal that has shaped our world – and may yet determine its fate.
The Secret History of Gold tells the epic tale of the world’s oldest, and most treasured, currency. From its origins in the formation of the solar system to its pivotal role in both ancient myth and modern finance, Dominic Frisby explores, with wit and brevity, how gold has defined the entire course of human civilisation.
Gold has inspired men to do the most brilliant – and terrible – things. The most stolen metal in history, it has lured explorers, conquerors and thieves. It has sparked wars, it has built empires, it has empowered leaders – from Alexander the Great to Adolf Hitler – good and bad. As nations today such as China and Russia mine and hoard gold at record rates, Frisby examines its enduring significance in the digital age and its potential to influence global peace and power.
This is the untold story of its past, its present and its future.
Dominic Frisby 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025
Audible Audio
Published August 28, 2025
About the author
Dominic Frisby
15 books77 followersDominic Frisby is a comedian from London.
But his first book, Life After The State, has nothing to do with comedy. It is a deadly serious dismantling of the way societies are run in the west, outlining the damage governments unknowingly do to their people, with simple suggestions about how things can be vastly improved.
Dominic writes an investment column for MoneyWeek and has written and produced numerous short films and videos, including the viral hit 'Debt Bomb'. His script-writing ranges from episodes of the kids' show 'Roary the Racing Car' to the feature documentary 'The Four Horsemen', about the global financial crisis. He is a frequent speaker on gold and money on television, radio and at conferences.
Frisby is also a comedian and actor, described as 'viciously funny and inventive' by the Guardian; 'masterful' by the Evening Standard; and 'great comedy talent' by Chortle.co.uk.
Day-to-day he is found trotting about the sound studios of London, voicing everything from BBC nature documentaries to zombies in Hollywood blockbusters.
He has also worked as a TV presenter, a boxing-ring announcer, a florist, a removal man, an extremely camp theatrical agent's PA, a sports commentator and a busker.
But his first book, Life After The State, has nothing to do with comedy. It is a deadly serious dismantling of the way societies are run in the west, outlining the damage governments unknowingly do to their people, with simple suggestions about how things can be vastly improved.
Dominic writes an investment column for MoneyWeek and has written and produced numerous short films and videos, including the viral hit 'Debt Bomb'. His script-writing ranges from episodes of the kids' show 'Roary the Racing Car' to the feature documentary 'The Four Horsemen', about the global financial crisis. He is a frequent speaker on gold and money on television, radio and at conferences.
Frisby is also a comedian and actor, described as 'viciously funny and inventive' by the Guardian; 'masterful' by the Evening Standard; and 'great comedy talent' by Chortle.co.uk.
Day-to-day he is found trotting about the sound studios of London, voicing everything from BBC nature documentaries to zombies in Hollywood blockbusters.
He has also worked as a TV presenter, a boxing-ring announcer, a florist, a removal man, an extremely camp theatrical agent's PA, a sports commentator and a busker.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 1, 2026
Interesting book full of stories. Covered its history for last 2500 plus years , the violence it quest caused in America continent , how the financial system revolved post 15th century. It covers all major discoveries of gold mines across ages , how two world wars impacted gold holding across the world. Gave a broad idea of current gold holding across country. Clearly explained how gold standard work over last 250 years upto 1970 even thought with less compliance post world war 2 . It took govt over 300 years and gold based system for govts to make people trust their currency. But gold is back with a bang as currencies are mismanaged across the world. I am convinced everyone should have 10% of their overall portfolio in gold/silver as a cover for bad times when government mistakes will cause rapid depreciation of currency causing erosion of once wealth.
December 31, 2025
Surprisingly good, even if it is clearly written by a goldbug with a hard currency worldview. That bias is always present, but it does not get in the way of what is, above all, a rich collection of stories about gold across history.
Frisby begins with gold as a chemical element before moving quickly into myth and symbolism, with King Midas as the obvious starting point. From there, gold becomes a driver of history. Lust for it fuelled the campaigns of Alexander, the brutality of the conquistadores, and later the plunder organised by the Nazis. Along the way, the book explores the alchemists’ obsession with synthesising gold. One of the more striking episodes concerns Isaac Newton, who despite his scientific stature devoted serious effort to alchemy and later became Master of the Royal Mint, where he strengthened the credibility of British currency by combating practices such as coin shaving.
The twentieth century sections are particularly engaging. Frisby describes the systematic looting of gold during the Second World War, including specialised units tasked with seizing bullion from banks and central vaults. Central banks receive special attention, especially their continued attachment to gold even after the collapse of Bretton Woods in the 1970s and the rise of fiat money. The author cannot resist reopening old wounds, most notably Gordon Brown’s decision to sell a large portion of Britain’s gold reserves at the bottom of the market.
The timing of the book feels apt, given the renewed rally in gold in 2025. That alone makes it worth revisiting. More importantly, the range of historical episodes is impressive and handled with confidence. Even readers sceptical of hard money arguments will find plenty to enjoy in this lively and informative tour of gold’s long and often dark history.
Frisby begins with gold as a chemical element before moving quickly into myth and symbolism, with King Midas as the obvious starting point. From there, gold becomes a driver of history. Lust for it fuelled the campaigns of Alexander, the brutality of the conquistadores, and later the plunder organised by the Nazis. Along the way, the book explores the alchemists’ obsession with synthesising gold. One of the more striking episodes concerns Isaac Newton, who despite his scientific stature devoted serious effort to alchemy and later became Master of the Royal Mint, where he strengthened the credibility of British currency by combating practices such as coin shaving.
The twentieth century sections are particularly engaging. Frisby describes the systematic looting of gold during the Second World War, including specialised units tasked with seizing bullion from banks and central vaults. Central banks receive special attention, especially their continued attachment to gold even after the collapse of Bretton Woods in the 1970s and the rise of fiat money. The author cannot resist reopening old wounds, most notably Gordon Brown’s decision to sell a large portion of Britain’s gold reserves at the bottom of the market.
The timing of the book feels apt, given the renewed rally in gold in 2025. That alone makes it worth revisiting. More importantly, the range of historical episodes is impressive and handled with confidence. Even readers sceptical of hard money arguments will find plenty to enjoy in this lively and informative tour of gold’s long and often dark history.
December 8, 2025
This book is mainly about gold's important role throughout recorded history, and there are numerous examples of its importance and role throughout the ages. Gold always retains its value, whereas the things we think of as "money" generally don't. Most people own very little gold, small pieces of jewellery being the most common. The one great problem with gold is its weight, which makes it hard to hide and easy to steal. Fortunately, there are services which enable you to buy gold today, although most of them involve trusting a third party, like ETFs, which I use for my gold.
The final part of the book, and which it all builds up to, is today. As the book shows again and again, civilisations end when the money runs out. Gold used to be the backbone of the financial system, and ended in the 1970s, since when most asset classes have shot up in value (as fiat money could, was and still is created from nowhere). The author is on the right of politics, but that doesn't change the story; you might not agree with his vision of the future, though.
Countries, especially those outside the West, have started to dedollarise. If the dollar is someday to be supplanted as the reserve currency, the replacement will likely involve gold in some form, rather than a single nation's fiat currency. So I will hang on to my gold; if you haven't got any and you read this book, then you probably soon will.
The final part of the book, and which it all builds up to, is today. As the book shows again and again, civilisations end when the money runs out. Gold used to be the backbone of the financial system, and ended in the 1970s, since when most asset classes have shot up in value (as fiat money could, was and still is created from nowhere). The author is on the right of politics, but that doesn't change the story; you might not agree with his vision of the future, though.
Countries, especially those outside the West, have started to dedollarise. If the dollar is someday to be supplanted as the reserve currency, the replacement will likely involve gold in some form, rather than a single nation's fiat currency. So I will hang on to my gold; if you haven't got any and you read this book, then you probably soon will.
March 31, 2026
Dominic Frisby’s The Secret History of Gold is less a book about a metal and more a challenge to how we think about money itself. What stayed with me most is the idea that much of what we perceive as rising wealth over the past decades may reflect the erosion of the measuring unit rather than true value creation. For investors, this reframes gold not as a speculative asset, but as a form of insurance against monetary instability. Whether one agrees with the argument or not, it forces a deeper question: Are we measuring wealth correctly? I explore this idea in more detail here:
https://attilarebak.substack.com/p/th...
https://attilarebak.substack.com/p/th...
October 5, 2025
A little heavy on the historical context, which was, to be fair, still pretty interesting. But the insight to gold as an incorruptible gauge of value by which to judge fiat money was well taken, particularly in terms of highlighting the systematic debasement of paper money. And if you debase the currency, it is not asset owners who suffer, but workers who are being paid in debased currency.
October 23, 2025
It’s an easy to read short book on the history of gold and fiat money .
December 24, 2025
Exceptionally well researched book.
April 19, 2026
The Secret History of Gold: Myth, Money, Politics and Power is a (deliberately) timely and engaging exploration of gold’s enduring role in shaping economies, empires, and ideas of value. Blending historical narrative with economic insight, it moves comfortably between ancient myth and modern monetary policy, offering a broad yet accessible account of why gold still matters.
One of the book’s strengths lies in its storytelling. Alongside the facts, there are well-chosen anecdotes that bring the subject to life and prevent it from becoming overly technical or just dry history. While the argument occasionally leans into the author’s political perspective, this arguably adds to the book’s clarity and force rather than detracting from it making it more than just a textbook.
Overall, it’s a thoughtful and readable introduction to the cultural and financial significance of gold—particularly appealing for those (like myself) with an existing interest in the topic, but accessible enough for a wider audience.
One of the book’s strengths lies in its storytelling. Alongside the facts, there are well-chosen anecdotes that bring the subject to life and prevent it from becoming overly technical or just dry history. While the argument occasionally leans into the author’s political perspective, this arguably adds to the book’s clarity and force rather than detracting from it making it more than just a textbook.
Overall, it’s a thoughtful and readable introduction to the cultural and financial significance of gold—particularly appealing for those (like myself) with an existing interest in the topic, but accessible enough for a wider audience.
Read
July 18, 2026I had a love-hate relationship reading this book. Things I really liked: learning how the etymology of some common words (like “touchstone”) were actually tied to gold. Also finding out some interesting anecdotes (such as the fact that the world’s earliest known gold artifacts included a phallus cover, or tracing the adventures during world war two of countries trying to hide or move their gold reserves). I liked learning how some ancient myths about gold actually seem to have related to real events or phenomena (the “golden fleece” in Jason and the Argonauts referred to an ancient panning technique for alluvial gold, and the story of Midas is a mythological origin story for the alluvial gold in the River Pactolus.) All that was highly enjoyable.
However, as we got past the midpoint of the book and to more modern history, Frisby started talking about monetary systems and advocating hard for the gold standard, and that’s where he lost me. I was born a decade after the US went off even a nominal hat-tip to the gold standard, and have never known anything but fiat money, and it seems to have been working pretty well for the last fifty or so years. (At least in countries with sound fiscal policies, and not places where they choose to just print tons of money to solve their problems, leading to hyperinflation.) There’s no way the world could have experienced such rapid economic growth if we had tied our money to the (limited) supply of gold. Even Frisby notes that for gold to act as a backing of the US currency in circulation, it would need to be valued at something like $80k per ounce. Frisby then goes on a tangent about how bitcoin is “gold 2.0,” doing much of what gold does but in a digital medium. Which I think is a wild take, though perhaps less wild if you realize that most modern uses for gold (other than jewelry or industry) are about hedging, black market, and hoarding, as opposed to everyday monetary transactions. So I suppose bitcoin does fit the bill in that sense.
Look, do I have problems with the modern late-stage capitalist system we find ourselves in? Sure. Do I think the solution is some sort of gold-back bitcoin? Absolutely not. Read this book for the fun anecdotes, but be prepared for some wild philosophical takes while you’re at it.
However, as we got past the midpoint of the book and to more modern history, Frisby started talking about monetary systems and advocating hard for the gold standard, and that’s where he lost me. I was born a decade after the US went off even a nominal hat-tip to the gold standard, and have never known anything but fiat money, and it seems to have been working pretty well for the last fifty or so years. (At least in countries with sound fiscal policies, and not places where they choose to just print tons of money to solve their problems, leading to hyperinflation.) There’s no way the world could have experienced such rapid economic growth if we had tied our money to the (limited) supply of gold. Even Frisby notes that for gold to act as a backing of the US currency in circulation, it would need to be valued at something like $80k per ounce. Frisby then goes on a tangent about how bitcoin is “gold 2.0,” doing much of what gold does but in a digital medium. Which I think is a wild take, though perhaps less wild if you realize that most modern uses for gold (other than jewelry or industry) are about hedging, black market, and hoarding, as opposed to everyday monetary transactions. So I suppose bitcoin does fit the bill in that sense.
Look, do I have problems with the modern late-stage capitalist system we find ourselves in? Sure. Do I think the solution is some sort of gold-back bitcoin? Absolutely not. Read this book for the fun anecdotes, but be prepared for some wild philosophical takes while you’re at it.
May 31, 2026
While I learned some interesting historical facts from the book like that the origin of banking in Britain lies in the gold trade I found the book so full of inaccurate claims that I stopped reading after chapter 14. Here are some of them:
Chapter 11:
As nations spent heavily on the war effort, the US, which could turn over weapons and planes quickly, was happy to take their gold in exchange. No wonder it was so slow to get involved in the war.
One of the reasons the US was slow to join the Second World War was the investments of Ford, General Motors and other US industrial giants.
Chapter 14:
Japanese mass murder during the Second World War was a scale up from the Nazis’, hard though that may be to believe. The Nazis killed over 17 million. The Japanese slaughtered twice as many,1 including 23 million ethnic Chinese.
I suggest you look these claims up yourself and see whether the evidence for them supports such statements. I read a review of this book in The Economist and I'm quite disappointed that such a renowned newspaper would recommend a book riddled with so many weakly supported factual claims
Chapter 11:
As nations spent heavily on the war effort, the US, which could turn over weapons and planes quickly, was happy to take their gold in exchange. No wonder it was so slow to get involved in the war.
One of the reasons the US was slow to join the Second World War was the investments of Ford, General Motors and other US industrial giants.
Chapter 14:
Japanese mass murder during the Second World War was a scale up from the Nazis’, hard though that may be to believe. The Nazis killed over 17 million. The Japanese slaughtered twice as many,1 including 23 million ethnic Chinese.
I suggest you look these claims up yourself and see whether the evidence for them supports such statements. I read a review of this book in The Economist and I'm quite disappointed that such a renowned newspaper would recommend a book riddled with so many weakly supported factual claims
September 1, 2025
4,5 stars; 4 for substance, an additional 0,5 star for relevance and timeliness;
September 1, 2026
There is nothing particularly secret about the history of gold that Dominic Frisby loosely recounts, but the false bravado of the title doesn't necessarily mean the contents of the book aren't fun and interesting. "The Secret History of Gold" is a combination of retelling old myths and fables about gold and commenting on governments' relationships with gold and the related apparent evils of fiat currency.
Frisby's main thrust is not complex: humans have always loved gold and have done awful things to obtain or retain it, and monetary systems untethered to gold are not only flimsy, unaccountable, and irresponsible, but also morally bankrupt. This might ring out as the rantings of a survivalist gold-hoarder, but Frisby is disciplined in his views and marshals sound, or at least defensible, arguments to support his stance. I am not an expert in monetary policy or hard metals, so perhaps I am more easily persuaded than those who are, but I found "The Secret History of Gold" to be compelling, well-written, and engaging.
Frisby's main thrust is not complex: humans have always loved gold and have done awful things to obtain or retain it, and monetary systems untethered to gold are not only flimsy, unaccountable, and irresponsible, but also morally bankrupt. This might ring out as the rantings of a survivalist gold-hoarder, but Frisby is disciplined in his views and marshals sound, or at least defensible, arguments to support his stance. I am not an expert in monetary policy or hard metals, so perhaps I am more easily persuaded than those who are, but I found "The Secret History of Gold" to be compelling, well-written, and engaging.
June 30, 2026
Gold existed before earth formed. It is inert and does not rust, so remains shiny and beautiful forever. Alexander the Great used his gold to conquer the gold belt of countries all the way to India. It has been used as money since early civilisation, except perhaps China which used silver and paper money. Central banks used to use gold backed currencies, now everyone is on fiat. Recently, BRICS+ nations have been hoarding gold. Especially China that is the top miner. It also imports gold. Dedollarisation is happening quietly ever since Russia’s foreign reserves weee confiscated. Gold will forever be useful as a store of value.
August 2, 2026
Super fun and well written history on Gold! Lots of historical details that were new to me and great stories and writing. Really enjoyed reading this one as it was a nice change from the more technical books I've been reading. Highly recommend reading this one! I bet there's a ton in here that they just don't teach in any schools today. Fascinating history of Nazi gold, Mucilaginous gold, and Yamashita's gold! The stuff of great movies! If this history was taught, the world would be a whole lot different. People need to wake up, learn from history, and learn the true meaning and history of money (ie: GOLD)!
August 2, 2026
This is a book of stories providing ample trivia if you want to sound knowledgeable about gold. It remarkably brushes over some of the most important questions regarding the relationship between gold and the supply of money. While fact checking one thing, I found one memorable sentence taken straight out of Wikipedia.
November 12, 2025
It appeals to my autism; I need all the gold facts and storytimes.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews