Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Mar 2014
336 pages
Genre: History, Current Affairs and Religion
Publication Information
From ancient currency to Adam Smith, from the gold standard to shadow banking and the Great Recession: a sweeping historical epic that traces the development and evolution of one of humankind's greatest inventions.
What is money, and how does it work? In this tour de force of political, cultural and economic history, Felix Martin challenges nothing less than our conventional understanding of money. He describes how the Western idea of money emerged from interactions between Mesopotamia and ancient Greece and was shaped over the centuries by tensions between sovereigns and the emerging middle classes. He explores the extraordinary diversity of the world's monetary systems, from the Pacific island of Yap, where value was once measured by immovable stones, to the currency of today that exists solely on globally connected computer screens. Martin shows that money has always been a deeply political instrument, and that it is our failure to remember this that led to the crisis in our financial system and so to the Great Recession. He concludes with practical solutions to our current pressing, money-based problems.
Money skips nimbly among such far-ranging topics as John Locke's disastrous excursion into economic policy, Montesquieu's faith in finance to discipline the power of kings, the social organization of ancient Sparta and the Soviet Union's ill-fated attempt to abolish money and banking altogether. Throughout, Martin makes vivid sense of a chaotic and sometimes incoherent system - the everyday currency that we all share - in the clearest and most stimulating terms. This is a magisterial work of history and economics, with profound implications for the world today.
"Martin's book is breezy, fluent, discursive, and informed." - Publishers Weekly
"This insightful monetary history gives readers a better appreciation of money and its evolution and of current systems and financial events, especially crises." - Library Journal
"[A] critical essay fizzing with ideas." - Sunday Telegraph (UK)
"Stimulating and timely." - Guardian (UK)
"The virtue of Martin's book is that it exposes the deep flaws in the way we have traditionally thought about money. The exposition is clear... Fresh." New Statesman (UK)
"Felix Martin condenses the broadest of subjects into a searing and potentially life-changing read that destroys all accepted knowledge of this thing we sell our souls for." - Shortlist
"So replete with literary and historical examples that the story almost tells itself... a lucid, colorful introduction to 3,000 years of monetary history." - Financial Times (UK)
"This original and thought-provoking history of what's in your wallet also offers some controversial solutions to the financial crisis, such as raising inflation levels and writing off national debts." - The Guardian (UK)
This information about Money was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Felix Martin was educated in Britain, Italy and the United States and holds degrees in classics, international relations and economics, including a doctorate in economics from Oxford University. He worked for the World Bank and for the European Stability Initiative think tank, and is currently a partner in the fixed income division at Liontrust Asset Management plc. He lives in London.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Stone Home
by Crystal Hana Kim
A moving family drama and coming-of-age story revealing a dark corner of South Korean history.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
