The History of Money

By: Jack Weatherford

Narrated by: Victor Bevine

Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

From primitive man's cowrie shells to the electronic cash card, from the markets of Timbuktu to the New York Stock Exchange, The History of Money explores how money and the myriad forms of exchange have affected humanity, and how they will continue to shape all aspects of our lives--economic, political, and personal.

Listen to An Interview with Author Jack Weatherford.

©1998 Jack Weatherford (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Very Interesting

Very interesting book spanning the dawn of civilization to the modern age, revealing the effect money had on shaping civilization. Highly recommended for anyone interested in history or why the current global economy is how it is today.

Informative and Interesting

A historical account informative, (some of the information is disturbing) and seemingly optimistic about the fluidity of the currency systems in the future... don't get left behind!

interesting; could be made more interesting

I gave it 4 stars, but I have a distinct feeling this topic could have been made much more interesting. Somewhere between the Knights Templar's banking precedent and the airline miles industry, it all became less gripping. It also didn't help that some of the chapters ended with such an extensive summing-up that I kept thinking the book was ending. But no. So I don't know, it was maybe the dry writing style, maybe uneven interest, who knows. Still, this was interesting and comprehensive enough.

More interesting than the title and the coverq

If you're worried that this book is a dry, academic look at the history of finance and how it influenced humanity, you'd be mostly right. It isn't dry, but it is all the rest.

It is a detailed look at how money was developed to suit human needs and civilizations. It's a fresh way of looking at something most of us take for granted as being part of the human culture. Good food for thought, whether or not you are interested in modern finance.

Fascinating

I would not have thought of reading this book, but I read the author's book about Genghis Khan and enjoyed it so much that I thought I would give his other books a listen. Though the end of the book discussing the era of electronic money was a bit tedious to me, the rest of the book more than made up for that, and I'm sure I will read it again in a couple of years. The section about the decline of the Roman empire was downright scary in its similarity to the U.S.A. today.

Excellent!

This book gives a wonderful understanding of the importance money has played throughout history. It is well written and entertaining. I would recommend it to anyone!

Too few facts

Too few facts, lost in huge mush of words. Altough the middle of the book was quiet interesting

A refreshing perspective

What did you love best about The History of Money?

An anthropologist's view on money was very refreshing. We always think of money from the economist's perspective which can at times be a little dry. The author gives just the right mix of interesting tid bits on money and a constant theme to tie the book together...that while money has greatly advanced society, history repeats over and over the folly of too much money creation.

What does Victor Bevine bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The book was well read so that it is easy to follow even at 3 times speed.

Diverting, but shallow and poorly researched

Any additional comments?

Despite the title, "The History of Money" has little to say about money. The book spends most of its time visiting the historical landmarks familiar from school -- Greece, Rome, the middle ages, colonization, the American Civil War. At each stop on this weary tour, Weatherford throws in a token anecdote about the evolution of money.

As I heard about the first coins, the first banks, and so on, I started to suspect that I was getting the author's first impressions on each topic. Nothing is analyzed beyond the barest surface, and the various tidbits never come together as a story or a coherent historical process.

Worst of all is Weatherford's vague animosity towards the move away from the gold standard in the 20th century. This is certainly an important topic for debate, but it gets no in-depth treatment here -- only repeated disparaging of fiat currency as "money based on nothing but promises". I could have heard that sort of insight from a cab driver -- I expect better from a book dedicated to the subject of money.

The last couple of chapters are dedicated to wild speculation on the future of money. The book was written in 1997; in the fifteen years since, reality has not come close to any of Weatherford's guesses. These chapters are best skipped entirely.

The narration was mediocre, mostly due to the editing. Every cut between different takes was distinctly noticeable and distracting. The narration itself was decent.

A bad diatribe on the gold standard

This book has absolutely no economic theory on the evolution of money and how it affects society. Rather, it is a thinly veiled political statement calling for the restoration of the gold standard. Now, that would normally be fine, but the author offers absolutely no credible debate on the pros and cons of his position. This book is full of strawmen, and the author jumps around in time with no thought to cause or effect. For example, he claims that Augustus' reckless spending near 0 B.C. caused the fall of the roman republic, 700 years later!. Do not expect this book be mentally stimulating.