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About The Book

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

‘A breathtaking, expansive and imaginative ride through the history and future of money from an author who truly understands it’ PROFESSOR BRIAN COX

‘Exceptional’ FINANCIAL TIMES

‘A cracking book that is as enjoyable as it is readable’ PETER FRANKOPAN

‘Equally entertaining and insightful’ YANIS VAROUFAKIS
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MONEY.
The object of our desires.
The engine of our genius.
Humanity’s greatest invention.

Money is everything. It brings freedom and it takes it away. It inspires and corrupts us. But what is money? Is it the main thing holding us back from utopia or is it the one constant that’s driven us to success?

In his illuminating, entertaining and often surprising book, economist David McWilliams charts the relationship between humans and money – from clay tablets in Mesopotamia to coins in Ancient Greece, from mathematics in the medieval Arab world to the French Revolution, and from the emergence of the US dollar right up to today’s cryptocurrency. Along the way, we meet a host of characters who have innovated with money, disrupting society and transforming the way we live. Like humanity, money is ever changing, adapting to its time and circumstances. The question is, over the last 5000 years, have we changed money or has money changed us?
Money tells an astonishing new story of our species. Taking the reader on an epic journey through the history of money, McWilliams reveals its fundamental role in our society.
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‘An eye-opening history of what makes the world go round’ EVENING STANDARD

'An impressive journey that fizzes with facts'. ECONOMIST

‘David McWilliams is the best explainer of economics I know’ SIMON KUPER

'Compelling, funny and original' KATJA HOYER

‘If, as David McWilliams complains, economists take the fun out of money, then he is the exception that proves the rule: a man who could not write a boring sentence if he tried’ TOM HOLLAND

About The Author

David McWilliams strives to demystify economics and make the topic accessible to audiences worldwide. Formerly an economist for Irish Central Bank, UBS, and Banque Nationale de Paris, he is a prolific author, podcaster, journalist, documentarian, and broadcaster. He is the founder of the world’s only economics and stand-up comedy festival, “Kilkenomics,” which the Financial Times called “the best economics conference in the world.” McWilliams has written five books, writes a weekly column for The Irish Times and contributes regularly to the Financial Times. A faculty member at Trinity Business School at Trinity College, Dublin, he’s been described as being to economics what David Attenborough is to the natural sciences and Brian Cox is to physics. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK (October 16, 2024)
  • Length: 416 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781471195433

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Raves and Reviews

Well researched and crammed full of anecdotes that help bring a dry subject to life. Much to enjoy – for the lay reader as well as the economist

– Guardian

'If you still think of economics as 'the dismal science', then this firecracker of a book might change your mind'.

– Christopher Hart, Mail on Sunday

‘A hugely ambitious, insightful and readable account of our relationship with money'

– Felix Martin, Financial Times

'If, as David McWilliams complains, economists take the fun out of money, then he is the exception that proves the rule: a man who could not write a boring sentence if he tried, and who, in this brilliantly informative and entertaining book, has done his subject splendid justice'

– Tom Holland

‘A breathtaking, expansive and imaginative ride through the history and future of money from an author who truly understands it. If, like me, you’ve never quite figured out where money comes from or even what it is, this is the book for you

– Professor Brian Cox

If there's one person who can turn an economic history of the world into a page turner, it's David McWilliams.This book makes a compelling, funny and original case for the idea that money does indeed make the world go round’

– Katja Hoyer, author of Beyond the Wall

'Pacey chapters make for a series of entertaining – and at times irreverent – tales which relay a story of money that we all should know!'

– Linda Yueh, author of The Great Crashes: Lessons from Global Meltdowns and How to Prevent Them

A timely, fascinating account of how money has powered life on our planet from Ireland’s superstar economist. Money is so often shrouded in secrecy and manipulated by forces we barely understand, so it’s refreshing to read a book that traces our relationship with it with such healthy irreverence!’

– Mariella Frostrup

'Entertaining and compelling . . . raises profound questions as to how we have ordered our societies and the inequalities that we have built into the template of our civilisations . . . . a fabulous read'

– Irish Times

A tour de force of economic history that manages to be erudite, authoritative and engaging . . . His account is peppered with memorably colourful - and sometimes spicy - details that will grab the attention of experts and lay people alike . . . After reading this, you will never look at your bank account in the same way again

– Gillian Tett

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