Six books that tell the history of money, going back millennia

Six books that tell the history of money, going back millennia
Large stone discs with a hole in the centre were the traditional form of currency on the island of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia. (Image: Getty)
The Economist
Money predates history. Before the ancient Mesopotamians invented the means of writing, they had invented accountancy, using cuneiform symbols to track the flow of goods into and out of temples. The history of money itself is fascinating – and helps to explain how it works today. Some of the six books selected here take on the daunting, perhaps impossible, task of tracking the entire history of money. Others home in on one particular aspect or episode of it. Each is illuminating and demonstrates that money itself has plenty...

More Books

Was it, in fact, Yoko's career that was derailed by the Beatles?
The Life Review

Was it, in fact, Yoko's career that was derailed by the Beatles?

Biography offers a welcome reassessment of the artist’s place in cultural history.

Failure of oversight: how a great bank was brought to its knees
Books Review

Failure of oversight: how a great bank was brought to its knees

Not knowing what was going on became the hallmark of Credit Suisse's management.

A haunting and terrible look at Ireland's Great Famine
Books Review

A haunting and terrible look at Ireland's Great Famine

By 1845, most people relied on a single potato strain – a disaster waiting to happen.

Waiting for the paperback? Good luck with that!
The Life

Waiting for the paperback? Good luck with that!

Nonfiction authors increasingly get just one shot at print stardom: a hardback.