Jacob Goldstein

I loved this book. It's a wide-ranging and interesting history of money as an idea, and how that idea has changed over millennia.

I'm a long-time listener to the Planet Money show on the radio (and podcast), and the chapters in this book comes across as a collection of episodes of the show, rendered in print. In some cases I know that's literally true -- I have heard some of these stories on the show over the year. They're well-written, though, and sensibly organized, and you'd never get this thorough a history as just a listener. The show doesn't aim for the thematic consistency that the book allows.

The final chapter, on the possible future of money, was thought-provoking and a great way to finish a really good book.… (more)

An informative and entertaining book on the real nature of money. Real in that we or most of us take money for granted. The matter of fact power and measure of worth in our world is very real to us. But Goldstein in a plain and straight forward way drills down into what money really is and what it all means in the scheme of things.

In a general historical format he takes us through how the origins of trade and setting value brought money into existence. Yet he also exposes the myth about the power associated with it. He distills it down to it means something because we believe it does. And that is about it. A belief system not really that much different than religion really.

He winds up the book talking about the current crypto-craze and where that may or may not lead. That story in itself is spooky, almost a cult type origin there. There is much to be learned in this book and the lessons we seem to repeat over and over and probably will continue to.… (more)