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Simon Schuster Ltd Money The Fifth Element (International Edition).
Money. It’s as fundamental to our lives as air, water, fire and earth. It is the fifth element, without which humankind would struggle to survive.Now, global economist David McWilliams has written a brilliantly original book exploring our relationship with money and how it sustains the existence of civilisation as we know it. In Money , McWilliams aims to do for cash what David Attenborough did for the to unlock its mysteries, its limitations and its awesome power. We journey all across the world, through the present and the past, to survey the ever-evolving dynamics of money in a way that has never been seen before. We’ll go from the birthplace of money in the Middle East to where trade began along the silk road to China; we’ll explore markets from Marrakech to Wall Street . We’ll uncover the dawn of our relationship with money and track its history to more fully understand man’s current relationship with it, and its impact on the world right now.The story of money is the story of modernity . It’s the story of our desires, our genius and our downfalls, and has shaped the very essence of what it means to be human. And yet despite money’s primacy, most of us don’t truly understand it. Where does money come from? How much is out there? Who controls it? Nothing we’ve invented as a species has defined our own evolution so thoroughly and changed the direction of our planet’s history so dramatically. Money is power – and power beguiles, power sparkles and power unleashes our deepest cravings.So then, the story of Money is the story of earth’s most inventive, destructive and dangerous animal, Homo Sapiens. Our story.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published September 12, 2024
730 people are currently reading
12504 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 224 reviews
October 30, 2025
This is the best description of a pile of crap that I've ever read lol
Pre-Read Notes:
There's some great critique of capitalism out there right now and I want to read *all of it*.
"Hitler and Lenin may have been on opposite sides ideologically but they both understood the phenomenal power of money: undermine money and you undermine the fabric of society." p8
"The story of money is the story of humanity itself." p15
Final Review
(thoughts & recs) If you want a good basic functional understanding of this world and contemporary life, this book will help.
My 3 Favorite Things:
✔️ "Unlike other technologies, money is ephemeral . It resides in our heads, representing value, but it is intrinsically valueless. For money to work, a leap of mental abstraction is required. Counterintuitively, money is valuable not when it is scarce but when it is abundant." p13 It's wild to think that this thing that so completely drives the world is just an illusion.
✔️ "Both money and language are crowd phenomena. Like language, the more people who use money, the more valuable it becomes." p13 This is a fascinating observation, and sort of creepy too.
✔️ "There were too few people to make more food, and there wasn’t enough food to make more people." p76 Yep, sounds like the middle ages.
Thank you to David McWilliams, Henry Holt and Co., and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of THE HISTORY OF MONEY. All views are mine.
Pre-Read Notes:
There's some great critique of capitalism out there right now and I want to read *all of it*.
"Hitler and Lenin may have been on opposite sides ideologically but they both understood the phenomenal power of money: undermine money and you undermine the fabric of society." p8
"The story of money is the story of humanity itself." p15
Final Review
(thoughts & recs) If you want a good basic functional understanding of this world and contemporary life, this book will help.
My 3 Favorite Things:
✔️ "Unlike other technologies, money is ephemeral . It resides in our heads, representing value, but it is intrinsically valueless. For money to work, a leap of mental abstraction is required. Counterintuitively, money is valuable not when it is scarce but when it is abundant." p13 It's wild to think that this thing that so completely drives the world is just an illusion.
✔️ "Both money and language are crowd phenomena. Like language, the more people who use money, the more valuable it becomes." p13 This is a fascinating observation, and sort of creepy too.
✔️ "There were too few people to make more food, and there wasn’t enough food to make more people." p76 Yep, sounds like the middle ages.
Thank you to David McWilliams, Henry Holt and Co., and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of THE HISTORY OF MONEY. All views are mine.
December 21, 2024
Please note, this is not a boring book! This is McWilliams mastery at its best. For me, he is the only person on earth who can make economics interesting.
In this book, he explains how the exchange of goods (and eventually money) enabled nomadic man to stop hunting and to stay put. He presents the cases, that money is a social technology enabling humankind trade through a common value system, and that money fuels social mobility and political change. Money, he suggests, is like the central nervous system of the world, it runs through everything transcending all cultures, languages and borders, and it responds to, and mutates around, the variety of situations it meets.
He looks at key historical periods and events through the lens of money including the Egyptian era, the Greek and Roman empires, the dark ages, the Renaissance, the Revolutions of France and the US, the industrial revolution, the emergence of technology, all the way up to today’s Crypto.
Each period is observed through engaging storytelling, fascinating historical characters and an array of fun facts. McWilliams also uses great analogies to explain complex topics.
Money, he illustrates, is as abstract as religion, it only exists through belief. It is not tangible, it is conceptual. Only 10% of money is hard cash, the rest is perceived through elusive agreements (loans, contracts etc).
This is not an economics book about ‘how money works', it is about how money facilitates humanity. It is philosophical, rather than textbook. That is why it is so interesting 😊
In this book, he explains how the exchange of goods (and eventually money) enabled nomadic man to stop hunting and to stay put. He presents the cases, that money is a social technology enabling humankind trade through a common value system, and that money fuels social mobility and political change. Money, he suggests, is like the central nervous system of the world, it runs through everything transcending all cultures, languages and borders, and it responds to, and mutates around, the variety of situations it meets.
He looks at key historical periods and events through the lens of money including the Egyptian era, the Greek and Roman empires, the dark ages, the Renaissance, the Revolutions of France and the US, the industrial revolution, the emergence of technology, all the way up to today’s Crypto.
Each period is observed through engaging storytelling, fascinating historical characters and an array of fun facts. McWilliams also uses great analogies to explain complex topics.
Money, he illustrates, is as abstract as religion, it only exists through belief. It is not tangible, it is conceptual. Only 10% of money is hard cash, the rest is perceived through elusive agreements (loans, contracts etc).
This is not an economics book about ‘how money works', it is about how money facilitates humanity. It is philosophical, rather than textbook. That is why it is so interesting 😊
November 24, 2024
Money: A Story of Humanity by David McWilliams offers an engaging exploration of the history and impact of money on human civilization. McWilliams has a knack for making complex economic concepts accessible and interesting, which is a significant strength of the book. The narrative is filled with historical anecdotes and insights that provide a broad perspective on how money has shaped societies.
However, the book sometimes feels a bit scattered, jumping between different periods and topics without a clear, cohesive thread. This can make it challenging to follow the main arguments and themes. Additionally, while the book is informative, it occasionally lacks depth in its analysis, leaving some readers wanting more detailed explanations and discussions.
Overall, "Money: A Story of Humanity" is a good read for those interested in economic history and the evolution of money, but it may not fully satisfy readers looking for a more in-depth and structured analysis. 😊📚
However, the book sometimes feels a bit scattered, jumping between different periods and topics without a clear, cohesive thread. This can make it challenging to follow the main arguments and themes. Additionally, while the book is informative, it occasionally lacks depth in its analysis, leaving some readers wanting more detailed explanations and discussions.
Overall, "Money: A Story of Humanity" is a good read for those interested in economic history and the evolution of money, but it may not fully satisfy readers looking for a more in-depth and structured analysis. 😊📚
June 30, 2025
I found this read absolutely fascinating. Hands down one of the best “History of..” books I’ve EVER read. It keeps you captivated like a really good dramatization of your favorite historical documentary. Highly recommend it if you have any interest in history and the development of economics over the ages. Or just because. Because it is that good. Happy Reading!
May 25, 2025
Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy!
An excellent world-history through the lens of how finance and money (not necessarily the same thing, McWilliams argues persuasively) have been large factors in most historical. Again and again he showcases that there is a wide space between what economists write down on paper as the logical plan and projection for the money - and then all the crazy, emotion based decisions humans make when it comes to money.
From ancient debit and credit marks on sticks that pre-date agriculture to today's cryptocurrency, human events have always swirled around the idea of money.
McWilliams covers everything, and shows how it all connects, from debts in Rome leading to a printing press being put to a revolutionary use by Martin Luther, to a stock slump in railroad shares leading to Darwin's On the Origin of the Species, to a WWII POW camp leading to new theories of economics, and more.
I loved getting an outsider (McWilliams is Irish) examination of America's history of finance, as he both praises decisions post-Revolution to embrace federalism, while also dragging Burr and Hamilton across the coals for letting emotion get in the way of being rational.
A useful read to see how we do the same thing over and over again, no matter how we dress it up with new nouns, this is a fascinating history.
An excellent world-history through the lens of how finance and money (not necessarily the same thing, McWilliams argues persuasively) have been large factors in most historical. Again and again he showcases that there is a wide space between what economists write down on paper as the logical plan and projection for the money - and then all the crazy, emotion based decisions humans make when it comes to money.
From ancient debit and credit marks on sticks that pre-date agriculture to today's cryptocurrency, human events have always swirled around the idea of money.
McWilliams covers everything, and shows how it all connects, from debts in Rome leading to a printing press being put to a revolutionary use by Martin Luther, to a stock slump in railroad shares leading to Darwin's On the Origin of the Species, to a WWII POW camp leading to new theories of economics, and more.
I loved getting an outsider (McWilliams is Irish) examination of America's history of finance, as he both praises decisions post-Revolution to embrace federalism, while also dragging Burr and Hamilton across the coals for letting emotion get in the way of being rational.
A useful read to see how we do the same thing over and over again, no matter how we dress it up with new nouns, this is a fascinating history.
January 7, 2025
The main thesis of the book is that money and financial innovations generally lead to technological innovations and social progress. This is interesting although there are correlation vs causation issues that are discussed. Unfortunately the book is just a series of examples that tend to be disappointingly basic, slightly patronising and quite boring.
There is, however, a good discussion on cryptocurrency (arguing against the use of bitcoin and cryptocurrency) at the end. There is a brief discussion of MMT as well, although McWilliam's argument against MMT is that the bond markets prevent government spending - proponents of MMT would probably say that we should get rid of the bond markets.
There is, however, a good discussion on cryptocurrency (arguing against the use of bitcoin and cryptocurrency) at the end. There is a brief discussion of MMT as well, although McWilliam's argument against MMT is that the bond markets prevent government spending - proponents of MMT would probably say that we should get rid of the bond markets.
June 9, 2024
The root cause of my reading slump thus ends. I look at the flowers, I look at the trees, I feel the sun on my face, I hear the laughter of children.
A very frustrating pendulum between a fascinating history of money and human behaviour and watching someone take Victorian population theories at face value and applying it to colonially exacerbated tragedies.
A very frustrating pendulum between a fascinating history of money and human behaviour and watching someone take Victorian population theories at face value and applying it to colonially exacerbated tragedies.
February 9, 2025
Great read! It was written with an open mind with a horizon well beyond of bankers, central bankers, economists, CEO of IBs, tycoons, crypto-bros etc. The perspective over money one will have after reading it will not be really the same as before reading it, it covers a wide space, from the origin and evolution of money, origin of commercial trust, origin and evolution of finance, to the psychology of each generation and cultural perspective during the times of each innovation.
Highly recommended if one is alive today and has a minimum of cash or financial assets in his name.
Highly recommended if one is alive today and has a minimum of cash or financial assets in his name.
December 14, 2025
David McWilliams is a good story-teller. This is a surprisingly fun read.
Money and monetary policy form the bedrock of economics. While I’ve read many history books that touch on economic themes, David McWilliams’ The History of Money is the first I’ve read that centers around the evolution of money.
The book is loosely organized in chronological order, moving from ancient banks in Babylon to modern-day cryptocurrency. I learned a great deal of history viewed through the lens of money: the collapse of the Roman Empire and its monetary failures; how the concept of zero—originating in ancient India, adopted by Arab merchants, and only later reaching Europe—transformed trade and accounting; the Dutch Tulip Mania; John Law’s Mississippi Bubble of 1720 and its connection to the financial turmoil preceding the French Revolution; 2008 financial crisis; and the role of figures such as Alexander Hamilton in shaping modern financial systems.
The book also explained several core economic concepts to a lay person like me. For example, what is the gold standard and how it differs from a fiat money system, how bonds work, the role of central banks, what’s quantitative easing, and why Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not the money their creators claim but a tool to generate private wealth.
About cryptocurrency: “There is no world in which I can envisage the state giving up the power to issue money in its jurisdiction. It’s simply too powerful a tool to be given away and it’s too dangerous in the wrong hands. ”
“Soaring wealth and inequality is not the unintended consequence of quantitative easing. It was the objective.”
Money and monetary policy form the bedrock of economics. While I’ve read many history books that touch on economic themes, David McWilliams’ The History of Money is the first I’ve read that centers around the evolution of money.
The book is loosely organized in chronological order, moving from ancient banks in Babylon to modern-day cryptocurrency. I learned a great deal of history viewed through the lens of money: the collapse of the Roman Empire and its monetary failures; how the concept of zero—originating in ancient India, adopted by Arab merchants, and only later reaching Europe—transformed trade and accounting; the Dutch Tulip Mania; John Law’s Mississippi Bubble of 1720 and its connection to the financial turmoil preceding the French Revolution; 2008 financial crisis; and the role of figures such as Alexander Hamilton in shaping modern financial systems.
The book also explained several core economic concepts to a lay person like me. For example, what is the gold standard and how it differs from a fiat money system, how bonds work, the role of central banks, what’s quantitative easing, and why Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not the money their creators claim but a tool to generate private wealth.
About cryptocurrency: “There is no world in which I can envisage the state giving up the power to issue money in its jurisdiction. It’s simply too powerful a tool to be given away and it’s too dangerous in the wrong hands. ”
“Soaring wealth and inequality is not the unintended consequence of quantitative easing. It was the objective.”
April 27, 2025
Based on the book description, I expected a history of the world from the perspective of money.
This book only references secondary sources and a lot of these secondary sources are popular history books rather than academic books - which makes me skeptical of any of the claims in the book.
The book is also entirely focused on Europe & US except for two chapters early on with a very brief monetary history of the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia.
The book also, frustratingly, just seems to dance around actual monetary history and instead, often digress off into author's personal commentary on social classes or mini-bios of colourful characters and the end of the book is just a bunch of chapters of author's personal opinion on random monetary topics with ad honemism attacks sprinkled in ("tech bros", "angry X-obessed crypto bros" etc)
As a result, it lacks focus and so it ends up not being neither a comprehensive history of money & its impact on society nor a incisive analysis of the role of society, money and class.
It outlines the major monetary innovations, attributing to the following civilizations (really skeptical on the attributions since the book has a huge US/Europe bias)
* Debt and Lydians
* Coinage and the Greeks
* Shareholding in private companies and the Romans
* Zero & time value of money adopted from the Arabs by Sicilians
* Double entry bookkeeping & fractional reserve banking and the Florentines
* Fiat money and the French under John Law
* Bourses and public shareholding companies under the Dutch and subsequent refinement by the British.
Ideas discussed that I feel were much better covered by other books (they were just too briefly covered in this book)
* Money is created out of thin air by central and commercial banks (The End of Alchemy: Money, Banking, and the Future of the Global Economy)
* Money works on faith - it's an imagined reality (Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind)
* Debt was first, and then coinage (Debt: The First 5,000 Years)
New ideas (to me) discussed but without depth. I'm interested in more detailed books about these
* Commerce is freedom - liberating one from birth determined class and enabling social mobility (I feel this is oversimplified and underplays cultural baggage that can elevate or suppress your social status even if you are poor or rich respectively)
* Christianity emerged as a response to coinage. (The idea being that society was glorifying money too much and Christianity made being poor "cool")
* Rapid debasement of money by Diocletian by reducing the amount of silver in denarii coins lead to the collapse of Rome. (File that among the 13,247 theories on the fall of Rome)
* Invention of the "heavy metallic plough" helped propel northwestern Europe out of the dark ages and into prosperity. (I guess this is a part of Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel thesis)
This book only references secondary sources and a lot of these secondary sources are popular history books rather than academic books - which makes me skeptical of any of the claims in the book.
The book is also entirely focused on Europe & US except for two chapters early on with a very brief monetary history of the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia.
The book also, frustratingly, just seems to dance around actual monetary history and instead, often digress off into author's personal commentary on social classes or mini-bios of colourful characters and the end of the book is just a bunch of chapters of author's personal opinion on random monetary topics with ad honemism attacks sprinkled in ("tech bros", "angry X-obessed crypto bros" etc)
As a result, it lacks focus and so it ends up not being neither a comprehensive history of money & its impact on society nor a incisive analysis of the role of society, money and class.
It outlines the major monetary innovations, attributing to the following civilizations (really skeptical on the attributions since the book has a huge US/Europe bias)
* Debt and Lydians
* Coinage and the Greeks
* Shareholding in private companies and the Romans
* Zero & time value of money adopted from the Arabs by Sicilians
* Double entry bookkeeping & fractional reserve banking and the Florentines
* Fiat money and the French under John Law
* Bourses and public shareholding companies under the Dutch and subsequent refinement by the British.
Ideas discussed that I feel were much better covered by other books (they were just too briefly covered in this book)
* Money is created out of thin air by central and commercial banks (The End of Alchemy: Money, Banking, and the Future of the Global Economy)
* Money works on faith - it's an imagined reality (Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind)
* Debt was first, and then coinage (Debt: The First 5,000 Years)
New ideas (to me) discussed but without depth. I'm interested in more detailed books about these
* Commerce is freedom - liberating one from birth determined class and enabling social mobility (I feel this is oversimplified and underplays cultural baggage that can elevate or suppress your social status even if you are poor or rich respectively)
* Christianity emerged as a response to coinage. (The idea being that society was glorifying money too much and Christianity made being poor "cool")
* Rapid debasement of money by Diocletian by reducing the amount of silver in denarii coins lead to the collapse of Rome. (File that among the 13,247 theories on the fall of Rome)
* Invention of the "heavy metallic plough" helped propel northwestern Europe out of the dark ages and into prosperity. (I guess this is a part of Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel thesis)
July 20, 2025
I cannot emphasize enough how good this book was. He is so entertaining to read.
August 6, 2025
A brilliant book to help one understand why the world is the way it is. Need to read again to ingest it properly. Beautifully written and accessible.
October 13, 2024
As history lessons go is a good one
January 8, 2025
Fræðandi en þó ekki gallalaus; fyrst og fremst skemmtileg. Mæli með! PS. Mæli líka mjög mikið með hlaðvarpinu hans McWilliams.
December 22, 2025
Rather interesting history which makes the modern crop of "anti-usury" types look like utter fools.
Could have done without the bleeding heart Congo section, however.
Could have done without the bleeding heart Congo section, however.
February 15, 2025
Insightful, well written. A big recommend for anyone looking into the complex origins of the coins and paper in our wallets and the virtual money in our bank accounts.
August 29, 2025
David McWilliams’s Money: A Story of Humanity is a dazzling triumph: intellectually vigorous, endlessly engaging, and profoundly human. In this sweeping narrative, McWilliams transforms what might have been a dry recitation of economic history into a vivid, engrossing exploration of our species’ invention that changed civilization itself.
From the very first pages, the author reframes money not as mere coins and bills, but as a wondrous technology—an invention of the mind that enabled humanity to navigate an increasingly complex world. His bold thesis—that the story of money is the story of humanity—resonates through every chapter with accuracy and flair.
McWilliams is a storyteller at heart. He effortlessly blends colorful anecdotes—from the mysterious Ishango tally stick to the economic adventures of John Law, Alexander Hamilton, and even the monetary allegory of The Wizard of Oz—into a compelling narrative that never feels forced. His lively prose and irreverent tone create a reading experience that is both entertaining and intellectually satisfying, a rare feat in economic writing.
This book shines not just for its flair, but for its breadth and clarity. McWilliams builds a coherent global history of money by anchoring his narrative in diverse eras and settings—from ancient civilizations and Renaissance Florence to revolutionary France and beyond—rendering complex transformations accessible and engaging.
Even when addressing the darkest chapters—such as the exploitative economic systems underpinning colonialism—McWilliams does not shy away; yet he balances critique with insight, delivering depth without descending into jargon.
Critics have rightly hailed this book as a tour de force of economic history: hugely ambitious, insightful, and readable. It has been praised for turning a subject that might seem dry into something alive, dynamic, and urgent.
In short, Money: A Story of Humanity is essential reading for anyone curious about the threads that weave through human history, society, and progress. McWilliams’s gift lies in making you feel informed, entertained, and treated to stories you didn’t even know you wanted to hear. By the final page, you’ll never look at your wallet—or at humanity—the same way again.
From the very first pages, the author reframes money not as mere coins and bills, but as a wondrous technology—an invention of the mind that enabled humanity to navigate an increasingly complex world. His bold thesis—that the story of money is the story of humanity—resonates through every chapter with accuracy and flair.
McWilliams is a storyteller at heart. He effortlessly blends colorful anecdotes—from the mysterious Ishango tally stick to the economic adventures of John Law, Alexander Hamilton, and even the monetary allegory of The Wizard of Oz—into a compelling narrative that never feels forced. His lively prose and irreverent tone create a reading experience that is both entertaining and intellectually satisfying, a rare feat in economic writing.
This book shines not just for its flair, but for its breadth and clarity. McWilliams builds a coherent global history of money by anchoring his narrative in diverse eras and settings—from ancient civilizations and Renaissance Florence to revolutionary France and beyond—rendering complex transformations accessible and engaging.
Even when addressing the darkest chapters—such as the exploitative economic systems underpinning colonialism—McWilliams does not shy away; yet he balances critique with insight, delivering depth without descending into jargon.
Critics have rightly hailed this book as a tour de force of economic history: hugely ambitious, insightful, and readable. It has been praised for turning a subject that might seem dry into something alive, dynamic, and urgent.
In short, Money: A Story of Humanity is essential reading for anyone curious about the threads that weave through human history, society, and progress. McWilliams’s gift lies in making you feel informed, entertained, and treated to stories you didn’t even know you wanted to hear. By the final page, you’ll never look at your wallet—or at humanity—the same way again.
March 20, 2025
So this book took me a relatively long time to finish, but I honestly found it so interesting... in fact I would say a large part of the reason it took a while to get through was because I was learning so much along the way, so I would keep stopping to look something up or i guess just taking more time to absorb each piece of information. The book (as it's title would suggest) covers an incredible range of topics and time, spanning all the way from 18,000 BC to the current day and attempts to lay out the key role that money (or finance/commerce) played in some of the most significant developments in our history.
In terms of modern money and the modern economy, I would say I had a reasonably good grasp on most of these concepts already, having studied economics & finance at university, and this made the later chapters a bit easier for me to digest. But the book definitely highlighted a pretty big gap in my knowledge of historical commerce, the rise and fall of many civilizations, and how the institutions, concepts and rules that we still use today ever came to be.
Maybe it is my own lack of knowledge at fault, but it did feel a bit like some of the topics and eras were scattered around a bit, or there could have been a bit context provided which would have made some of the middle sections of the book at bit easier to follow. I have finished this book knowing that I will inevitably be dipping back into certain chapters to fully consolidate my knowledge because there are for sure so many things I won't have fully picked up on the first read... and I also have come away with a list of topics that I want to learn more about.
I have to say, I really enjoyed the author's voice on this, it's really obvious that he is an incredibly smart man, but also very witty, and his tone and style of writing kept what could realistically be a bit of a dull read very engaging. The anecdotes and stories included were entertaining and it was clear that McWilliams was passionate about the topics covered - the book seemed to me to be extremely well researched.
In terms of modern money and the modern economy, I would say I had a reasonably good grasp on most of these concepts already, having studied economics & finance at university, and this made the later chapters a bit easier for me to digest. But the book definitely highlighted a pretty big gap in my knowledge of historical commerce, the rise and fall of many civilizations, and how the institutions, concepts and rules that we still use today ever came to be.
Maybe it is my own lack of knowledge at fault, but it did feel a bit like some of the topics and eras were scattered around a bit, or there could have been a bit context provided which would have made some of the middle sections of the book at bit easier to follow. I have finished this book knowing that I will inevitably be dipping back into certain chapters to fully consolidate my knowledge because there are for sure so many things I won't have fully picked up on the first read... and I also have come away with a list of topics that I want to learn more about.
I have to say, I really enjoyed the author's voice on this, it's really obvious that he is an incredibly smart man, but also very witty, and his tone and style of writing kept what could realistically be a bit of a dull read very engaging. The anecdotes and stories included were entertaining and it was clear that McWilliams was passionate about the topics covered - the book seemed to me to be extremely well researched.
December 4, 2025
A really excellent and thorough economic history of money and financial innovations. Especially enjoyed the classical history periods (Greek/Roman) and pre modern/medieval European elements, and the discussion of financial innovation (coinage, decimalisation, swaps, paper currency, tally charts etc). Learned a lot as I (as a history graduate lol) avoided all anything pre 20thC like the absolute plague
Above all, it feels to me like the history of money is like that of much of economic history and the ‘science’ of economics and markets. It’s basically just humans interacting on a micro level every single day with irrational outcomes (the cobra example in India, divergence of innovations, advancements in the Near East versus lag in Northern Europe, the bicycle rubber wheel etc).
As such, this book speaks to my view (confirmation bias probs) that economics and the study of the market and the economy is not a science, but professional guesswork. Supply and demand may be related, but does equilibrium even, ever, truly exist? Do prices follow that trend/‘law’. I genuinely don’t think so - I make financially calamitous decisions every single day!
I must add it tailed off quite a bit towards the end when talking about more modern monetary history. I guess he had to discuss it but I much preferred learning new things to hearing about the 2008 property bubble/QE/crash etc for the 50th time.
Above all, it feels to me like the history of money is like that of much of economic history and the ‘science’ of economics and markets. It’s basically just humans interacting on a micro level every single day with irrational outcomes (the cobra example in India, divergence of innovations, advancements in the Near East versus lag in Northern Europe, the bicycle rubber wheel etc).
As such, this book speaks to my view (confirmation bias probs) that economics and the study of the market and the economy is not a science, but professional guesswork. Supply and demand may be related, but does equilibrium even, ever, truly exist? Do prices follow that trend/‘law’. I genuinely don’t think so - I make financially calamitous decisions every single day!
I must add it tailed off quite a bit towards the end when talking about more modern monetary history. I guess he had to discuss it but I much preferred learning new things to hearing about the 2008 property bubble/QE/crash etc for the 50th time.
December 27, 2024
Amateur, superficial history peppered with unjustified speculation. Coinage led to Athenian democracy? Right... and yet there were plenty of coins but not much democracy for almost 2,000 years!
Schoolboy perspective on the Middle Ages (Church nothing but nasty and anti-reason... please). And omitted a Pope (Sylvester II) introducing arabic numerals before Fibonacci - I wonder why...
No mention of how money dehumanises people and relationships, so not very critical. Seems like it's just a naive paean to money and trade.
And I've only got a third of the way.
Schoolboy perspective on the Middle Ages (Church nothing but nasty and anti-reason... please). And omitted a Pope (Sylvester II) introducing arabic numerals before Fibonacci - I wonder why...
No mention of how money dehumanises people and relationships, so not very critical. Seems like it's just a naive paean to money and trade.
And I've only got a third of the way.
January 9, 2025
A superb work! A history of human development told through the evolution of money and finance. Highly recommended for people who don’t typically read history. A highlight amongst many - and a cautionary tale - is McWilliams’ demolition of crypto in the final chapter!
February 3, 2025
One of the best economic history books I've read yet.
David firstly has an easy, familiar and humorous style of writing which meanders through history looking at where money innovated and what impact that had on society as a whole.
Great book and can highly recommend it!
David firstly has an easy, familiar and humorous style of writing which meanders through history looking at where money innovated and what impact that had on society as a whole.
Great book and can highly recommend it!
February 11, 2025
Explained money in a way even I could understand. Best take away is that mortgage comes from the French for 'death contract'
February 22, 2025
Great book for history passionate people who look forward to understand how every society in humanity's history worked their own money system and how all of them collided together
March 9, 2025
money is good
June 4, 2025
Really really interesting, highly recommend. Compelling arguments (admittedly I don't know enough to think otherwise), great historical stories, trivia and perspectives.
May 21, 2025
It starts with grain. Durable, fungible, portable, tangible. It can be stored, its amount recorded and its profit taxed, pocketed and shared among priests, potentates and peddlers. That's how money, as the value transferred onto a shekel, as a cuneiform squiggle or a haggled cow, slave or bride, originated.
So begins David McWilliams' breezy narrative. While fire generated calories, boosted energy and eased digestion, only the advent of currency, he proposes, shifted nascent civilization away from slash and burn food production into scales of mercantile exchange, hierarchical order and efficient taxation in turn enabling imperial expansion, regional commerce and efficient law. Thus far, his sketch reveals near zero nuance not already popularized by bestselling professorial predecessors Jared Diamond, David Graeber and Yuval Noah Harari. These voices from the sciences, hard or social, have the scene.
While as much at ease at TED talks, on podcasts or self-promotion as many of his chatty peers in academia and journalism, what McWilliams, who made his mark on his homeland's charts with his {The Pope's Children} (2005), brings into this genre combines his experience at not a think-tank institute or tenure-track institution, but the Central Bank of Ireland. Striding onto media platforms to translate David Brooks' millennial take on the new upper class of {Bohos in Paradise} from op-ed pages of the {New York Times} Hibernian equivalents witty enough for current-affairs programs, his warnings, after fifteen years inside a Celtic Tiger's financial maw, about impending meltdown proved prescient. Meanwhile, he's hosted {Punk Economics} online videos and a Dublin "political cabaret."
This backstory illustrates McWilliams' approach. He's adept at grabbing attention with provocative packaging of phrases. He knows how to win over an audience. He's not bogged down in discourse of a turgid seminar or rhetoric from campaign hustings. Thus, his survey of coins, and how they generate mobility, dowries, fines, debt, art, accounting, credit and capitulation, while their factoid revelations may not prove astonishing, relates five thousand years of exponential growth, adjusting for booms and busts, in shifts from Sumeria and Croesus, past Fuggers and Florence, to blockchains and Brexit.
Trouble is, this quick step skips over details. For instance, early on McWilliams mentions the theory of Robin Dunbar, who posited how brain capacity in our primal ancestors correlated to a circle of those who could be trusted in a community. Yet, without explaining that "Dunbar's Number" (as it's come to be coined) doesn't exceed 150, McWilliams stumbles short of usefully incorporating this embedded mental model for networked management of goods, relationships, mates and work. In similar fashion, his adroit contrast of Renaissance horizontal webs of commerce which challenged vertical powers of the Vatican and the Holy Roman Empire skims past deep clashes between illicit usury and interest rates; it skimps on any relegation of Europe's Jewish merchants into banking business by the Church.
Still, McWilliams spins a smooth yarn of goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg's sly pre-bible Mainz hustle, printing on his newfangled press for fellow scoundrel Pope Pius II a passel of lucrative indulgences. In mechanization and production, boosts spurred capital. Pamphlets and spreadsheets proliferated. Skills sharpened, sedition spread and globalizing revolution swept away clerics, palaces, forts and frontiers.
With the Dutch, their lauded tolerance didn't transcend borders. Guns, shareholders, piety, currency and collusion ensured their maritime dominance, albeit briefly, grasping their thrift against Iberian, French and British maritime competition. Championing colonialism, London supplants Amsterdam in command. New Amsterdam transforms into New York. Early modern landscapes loom; McWilliams jumps over century spans, glancing at a mad rush of industrial, agricultural and political innovations.
Holland's fevered tulipmania embodies allure of gossip, doubled speculation, mirrors seducing the dreamy gaze, conjuring up visions of intangible, elusive, unattainable or ultimately unsustainable wealth. On the trail of crafty deadbeats, McWilliams follows the twisted tale of John Law, a Scots hit man who took out the discarded lover of a gay ancestor of Princess Diana, and a finagler who wriggled scot-free to become the world's pioneering engineer of fiat funding, issued by central banks without being backed by reserves in gold. The South Sea Bubble burst by 1720; Law's Mississippi Company sank. However, this frenzy to get to rich overseas, from the comfort of a coffeehouse, never has ebbed.
Romps through Talleyrand, Hamilton, Darwin, Malthus may all be expected. Maybe not a connection between Dunlop's bicycle tires, King Leopold's Belgian Congo and the complicated career of doomed rebel Sir Roger Casement, entangled in the struggle for Ireland's independence from the Crown. Here, McWilliams demonstrates his acumen, mining the rich elements of his native island to extract their illuminating exposure of inequality, which sustains and obsesses us, beneficiaries of its exploitation.
{The Wizard of Oz}, fewer fans probably realize thirteen decades on, emerges from an excoriation of reforms involving the gold standard. James Joyce's exile in the entrepot of Trieste, Hemingway's trip to inflation-insane Weimar Germany and Hitler's clever scheme (a brainstorm he and Lenin shared) to bomb Britain into submission by fake banknotes devastating its hard cash pepper the vignettes in recent times. Again, despite the uneven pace, McWilliams refreshingly devotes space to relevant, if digressive, anecdotes to keep his readers engaged. Like a sharp lecturer, he guides his lessons smartly.
His supplemental reading list, casually listing key texts, suggests his eclectic range. Dante, Graeber and {Ulysses}; James Scott, Iris Origo, Niall Ferguson, Deirdre McCloskey; John McCourt, Stephen Greenblatt and Thomas Frank may be names encountered by savvy bookworms. And nearly no Marx.
He wraps up his presentation with his own entrance into the profession as the Nineties began. Fresh out of university, he relates how liquidity traps, property porn, booze arbitrage, Eurodollars, and the rejection of precious metals for Ponzi borrowers led us all into our contemporary morass of failed policies. All dazzle of bitcoin, the hype of crypto and the imposition of qualitative easing fades away.
ARC Edelweiss. Standard disclaimer.
So begins David McWilliams' breezy narrative. While fire generated calories, boosted energy and eased digestion, only the advent of currency, he proposes, shifted nascent civilization away from slash and burn food production into scales of mercantile exchange, hierarchical order and efficient taxation in turn enabling imperial expansion, regional commerce and efficient law. Thus far, his sketch reveals near zero nuance not already popularized by bestselling professorial predecessors Jared Diamond, David Graeber and Yuval Noah Harari. These voices from the sciences, hard or social, have the scene.
While as much at ease at TED talks, on podcasts or self-promotion as many of his chatty peers in academia and journalism, what McWilliams, who made his mark on his homeland's charts with his {The Pope's Children} (2005), brings into this genre combines his experience at not a think-tank institute or tenure-track institution, but the Central Bank of Ireland. Striding onto media platforms to translate David Brooks' millennial take on the new upper class of {Bohos in Paradise} from op-ed pages of the {New York Times} Hibernian equivalents witty enough for current-affairs programs, his warnings, after fifteen years inside a Celtic Tiger's financial maw, about impending meltdown proved prescient. Meanwhile, he's hosted {Punk Economics} online videos and a Dublin "political cabaret."
This backstory illustrates McWilliams' approach. He's adept at grabbing attention with provocative packaging of phrases. He knows how to win over an audience. He's not bogged down in discourse of a turgid seminar or rhetoric from campaign hustings. Thus, his survey of coins, and how they generate mobility, dowries, fines, debt, art, accounting, credit and capitulation, while their factoid revelations may not prove astonishing, relates five thousand years of exponential growth, adjusting for booms and busts, in shifts from Sumeria and Croesus, past Fuggers and Florence, to blockchains and Brexit.
Trouble is, this quick step skips over details. For instance, early on McWilliams mentions the theory of Robin Dunbar, who posited how brain capacity in our primal ancestors correlated to a circle of those who could be trusted in a community. Yet, without explaining that "Dunbar's Number" (as it's come to be coined) doesn't exceed 150, McWilliams stumbles short of usefully incorporating this embedded mental model for networked management of goods, relationships, mates and work. In similar fashion, his adroit contrast of Renaissance horizontal webs of commerce which challenged vertical powers of the Vatican and the Holy Roman Empire skims past deep clashes between illicit usury and interest rates; it skimps on any relegation of Europe's Jewish merchants into banking business by the Church.
Still, McWilliams spins a smooth yarn of goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg's sly pre-bible Mainz hustle, printing on his newfangled press for fellow scoundrel Pope Pius II a passel of lucrative indulgences. In mechanization and production, boosts spurred capital. Pamphlets and spreadsheets proliferated. Skills sharpened, sedition spread and globalizing revolution swept away clerics, palaces, forts and frontiers.
With the Dutch, their lauded tolerance didn't transcend borders. Guns, shareholders, piety, currency and collusion ensured their maritime dominance, albeit briefly, grasping their thrift against Iberian, French and British maritime competition. Championing colonialism, London supplants Amsterdam in command. New Amsterdam transforms into New York. Early modern landscapes loom; McWilliams jumps over century spans, glancing at a mad rush of industrial, agricultural and political innovations.
Holland's fevered tulipmania embodies allure of gossip, doubled speculation, mirrors seducing the dreamy gaze, conjuring up visions of intangible, elusive, unattainable or ultimately unsustainable wealth. On the trail of crafty deadbeats, McWilliams follows the twisted tale of John Law, a Scots hit man who took out the discarded lover of a gay ancestor of Princess Diana, and a finagler who wriggled scot-free to become the world's pioneering engineer of fiat funding, issued by central banks without being backed by reserves in gold. The South Sea Bubble burst by 1720; Law's Mississippi Company sank. However, this frenzy to get to rich overseas, from the comfort of a coffeehouse, never has ebbed.
Romps through Talleyrand, Hamilton, Darwin, Malthus may all be expected. Maybe not a connection between Dunlop's bicycle tires, King Leopold's Belgian Congo and the complicated career of doomed rebel Sir Roger Casement, entangled in the struggle for Ireland's independence from the Crown. Here, McWilliams demonstrates his acumen, mining the rich elements of his native island to extract their illuminating exposure of inequality, which sustains and obsesses us, beneficiaries of its exploitation.
{The Wizard of Oz}, fewer fans probably realize thirteen decades on, emerges from an excoriation of reforms involving the gold standard. James Joyce's exile in the entrepot of Trieste, Hemingway's trip to inflation-insane Weimar Germany and Hitler's clever scheme (a brainstorm he and Lenin shared) to bomb Britain into submission by fake banknotes devastating its hard cash pepper the vignettes in recent times. Again, despite the uneven pace, McWilliams refreshingly devotes space to relevant, if digressive, anecdotes to keep his readers engaged. Like a sharp lecturer, he guides his lessons smartly.
His supplemental reading list, casually listing key texts, suggests his eclectic range. Dante, Graeber and {Ulysses}; James Scott, Iris Origo, Niall Ferguson, Deirdre McCloskey; John McCourt, Stephen Greenblatt and Thomas Frank may be names encountered by savvy bookworms. And nearly no Marx.
He wraps up his presentation with his own entrance into the profession as the Nineties began. Fresh out of university, he relates how liquidity traps, property porn, booze arbitrage, Eurodollars, and the rejection of precious metals for Ponzi borrowers led us all into our contemporary morass of failed policies. All dazzle of bitcoin, the hype of crypto and the imposition of qualitative easing fades away.
ARC Edelweiss. Standard disclaimer.
August 4, 2025
This is a fascinating read and very digestible for the lay person. I've never read anything by McWilliams previous to this but I'm a fan of his through the podcast he hosts with John Davis, and I read this in his voice. His writing is loose and playful, which really helps when you're discussing something like economics. I particularly enjoyed his regular little digressions into history (just as I do when he gets his teeth into a topic on the podcast).
Would I recommend this book? Yes, it's very much geared to the uninitiated and the curious amongst us as to how money has shaped history. This is well worth your time!
Would I recommend this book? Yes, it's very much geared to the uninitiated and the curious amongst us as to how money has shaped history. This is well worth your time!
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