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Money

The True Story of a Made-Up Thing

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Money

By: Jacob Goldstein
Narrated by: Jacob Goldstein
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The cohost of the popular NPR podcast Planet Money provides a well-researched, entertaining, somewhat irreverent look at how money is a made-up thing that has evolved over time to suit humanity's changing needs.

Money only works because we all agree to believe in it. In Money, Jacob Goldstein shows how money is a useful fiction that has shaped societies for thousands of years, from the rise of coins in ancient Greece to the first stock market in Amsterdam to the emergence of shadow banking in the 21st century.

At the heart of the story are the fringe thinkers and world leaders who reimagined money. Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor, created paper money backed by nothing, centuries before it appeared in the West. John Law, a professional gambler and convicted murderer, brought modern money to France (and destroyed the country's economy). The cypherpunks, a group of radical libertarian computer programmers, paved the way for bitcoin.

One thing they all realized: What counts as money (and what doesn't) is the result of choices we make, and those choices have a profound effect on who gets more stuff and who gets less, who gets to take risks when times are good, and who gets screwed when things go bad.

Lively, accessible, and full of interesting details (like the 43-pound copper coins that 17th-century Swedes carried strapped to their backs), Money is the story of the choices that gave us money as we know it today.©2020 AG Prospect, LLC (P)2020 Hachette Books Banks & Banking Personal Finance Banking Money Witty Taxation Cryptocurrency Capitalism China
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So interesting, let’s hope it wakes people up. Maybe just maybe we can start a revolution.

Must read for all.

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Jacobs book is the bible for true history of money and it’s understanding. Truly exceptional

Outstanding

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Jacob is a genius storyteller and educates whilst entertaining at the same time. Recommended listen

Entertainingly told and educational

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I'm sure it's difficult to decide what to leave out of a book like this which is not intended to be an economics text book. However, I think Jacob leans too far towards interesting anecdotes and fails to explore the contested aspects of monetary theory enough. I learned much more about the nature of money from the first couple of chapters of The Bitcoin Standard (which has its own problems).

Half of the story - well told - but still only half the story.

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