Money: A Story of Humanity

'Exceptional' FINANCIAL TIMES

'A cracking book that is as enjoyable as it is readable' PETER FRANKOPAN

'Equally entertaining & 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 & it takes it away. It inspires & 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 & often surprising book, economist David McWilliams charts the relationship between humans & money – from clay tablets in Mesopotamia to coins in Ancient Greece, from mathematics in the medieval Arab world to the French Revolution, & 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 & transforming the way we live. Like humanity, money is ever changing, adapting to its time & 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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David McWilliams strives to demystify economics & make the topic accessible to audiences worldwide. Formerly an economist for Irish Central Bank, UBS, & Banque Nationale de Paris, he is a prolific author, podcaster, journalist, documentarian, & broadcaster. He is the founder of the world’s only economics & stand-up comedy festival, “Kilkenomics,” which the Financial Times called “the best economics conference in the world.” He has written five books.