Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-11-16 09:51:47
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jacob Goldstein
- ISBN：0316417203
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
The co-host of the popular NPR podcast Planet Money provides a well-researched， entertaining， somewhat irreverent look at how money is a made-up thing that has evolved over time to suit humanity's changing needs。
Money only works because we all agree to believe in it。 In Money， Jacob Goldstein shows how money is a useful fiction that has shaped societies for thousands of years， from the rise of coins in ancient Greece to the first stock market in Amsterdam to the emergence of shadow banking in the 21st century。
At the heart of the story are the fringe thinkers and world leaders who reimagined money。 Kublai Khan， the Mongol emperor， created paper money backed by nothing， centuries before it appeared in the west。 John Law， a professional gambler and convicted murderer， brought modern money to France （and destroyed the country's economy）。 The cypherpunks， a group of radical libertarian computer programmers， paved the way for bitcoin。
One thing they all realized: what counts as money （and what doesn't） is the result of choices we make， and those choices have a profound effect on who gets more stuff and who gets less， who gets to take risks when times are good， and who gets screwed when things go bad。
Lively， accessible， and full of interesting details （like the 43-pound copper coins that 17th-century Swedes carried strapped to their backs）， Money is the story of the choices that gave us money as we know it today。
Money only works because we all agree to believe in it。 In Money， Jacob Goldstein shows how money is a useful fiction that has shaped societies for thousands of years， from the rise of coins in ancient Greece to the first stock market in Amsterdam to the emergence of shadow banking in the 21st century。
At the heart of the story are the fringe thinkers and world leaders who reimagined money。 Kublai Khan， the Mongol emperor， created paper money backed by nothing， centuries before it appeared in the west。 John Law， a professional gambler and convicted murderer， brought modern money to France （and destroyed the country's economy）。 The cypherpunks， a group of radical libertarian computer programmers， paved the way for bitcoin。
One thing they all realized: what counts as money （and what doesn't） is the result of choices we make， and those choices have a profound effect on who gets more stuff and who gets less， who gets to take risks when times are good， and who gets screwed when things go bad。
Lively， accessible， and full of interesting details （like the 43-pound copper coins that 17th-century Swedes carried strapped to their backs）， Money is the story of the choices that gave us money as we know it today。
Reviews
FM
，
I found this book to be amusing and easy to read。 I was just curious about the development of this abstract concept of "money" and this was perfect--it was just enough information and history to explain how our human concept of "how we pay for stuff" developed。 If you want a really serious， deep dive into financial terms and concepts， this is not your book。 But if you have ever wondered how Captain Kirk in the 23rd century of Star Trek can say "we don't have money any more" and wondered what tha I found this book to be amusing and easy to read。 I was just curious about the development of this abstract concept of "money" and this was perfect--it was just enough information and history to explain how our human concept of "how we pay for stuff" developed。 If you want a really serious， deep dive into financial terms and concepts， this is not your book。 But if you have ever wondered how Captain Kirk in the 23rd century of Star Trek can say "we don't have money any more" and wondered what that world might be like--and how that could possibly happen--this book is a nice overview of general financial information。 I have no head for finance at all and found this book easy to digest and a lot of fun。 。。。more
Eric Mesa
，
I know a lot about money and its history and I still learned a bunch in this book。 Jacob Goldstein， who also narrates， uses his podcast-acquired skills to make the stories he uses to illustrate the history of money very accessible。 It felt like I was listening to a podcast series with a bunch of episodes （each chapter） that were fascinating and illuminated a lot about the history of money。 I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to understand money and what's been happening in the world econ I know a lot about money and its history and I still learned a bunch in this book。 Jacob Goldstein， who also narrates， uses his podcast-acquired skills to make the stories he uses to illustrate the history of money very accessible。 It felt like I was listening to a podcast series with a bunch of episodes （each chapter） that were fascinating and illuminated a lot about the history of money。 I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to understand money and what's been happening in the world economy over the last few decades。 。。。more
Anne
，
Listener， it will be no surprise how well narrated this book is。 Goldstein is， after all， a Planet Money cohost。 Also， it will be no surprise that it is packed with history， data， and analysis。 What surprised me is how， in the two years since publication - with all of the financial volatility we've experienced - how relevant this still feels。 Nice Job！ Listener， it will be no surprise how well narrated this book is。 Goldstein is， after all， a Planet Money cohost。 Also， it will be no surprise that it is packed with history， data， and analysis。 What surprised me is how， in the two years since publication - with all of the financial volatility we've experienced - how relevant this still feels。 Nice Job！ 。。。more
Bob Finch
，
A pretty quick， light （and entertaining） read about a complex subject。 A great introduction to the history and uses of money， and what we even mean by and accept as “money” （perhaps a bit overly focused on recent history）。 Not technical， and with minimal jargon （but always explained when used）。Goldstein is a great storyteller who likes to focus on personalities and quirky anecdotes。 That makes for some amusing （and often surprising） reading， tho I think it can also oversimplify the full story。 T A pretty quick， light （and entertaining） read about a complex subject。 A great introduction to the history and uses of money， and what we even mean by and accept as “money” （perhaps a bit overly focused on recent history）。 Not technical， and with minimal jargon （but always explained when used）。Goldstein is a great storyteller who likes to focus on personalities and quirky anecdotes。 That makes for some amusing （and often surprising） reading， tho I think it can also oversimplify the full story。 The main text is not annotated， but the book includes notes for each chapter at the end that provides more info about sources。 I can heartily recommend this as a primer for anyone interested in the subject， but I don’t think it a good place to end。 There’s so much more to the story of money， and no shortage of books on the subject。 。。。more
Toria （Please call me Leo）
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First five star read if what I hope will be a non fiction heavy month。 Learned a lot about money and thought it was easy to understand and enjoyable to listen to
Erica Abrie
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3。5 starsListened to AudiobookEasy to listen toSome interesting stories / ideas
JD
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cursory， cute
Jonathan Farrell
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From barter to Bitcoin， an easy read on some key history of money and how it has changed over the years。 This book was deeply oversimplified and concepts were introduced at a very high level。 The target audience would be readers who don't typically go for personal finance or economics books and are looking for an introduction to the topic。 From barter to Bitcoin， an easy read on some key history of money and how it has changed over the years。 This book was deeply oversimplified and concepts were introduced at a very high level。 The target audience would be readers who don't typically go for personal finance or economics books and are looking for an introduction to the topic。 。。。more
Sara Anne
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The historical part was interesting but as it gets into modern time it becomes less clear and less interesting
Eric Sampson
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Great Read！Excellent and informative with a light delivery style！ To say that I learned a lot is an understatement！ Well worth the read！
Ross French
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An introduction into the history of money that manages to be light hearted， funny， and insightful; full of stories you could tell to your friends。
Maeve Lanning Stockman
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Quirky， easy to digest， reads like an episode of Planet Money。
Dustin Witmer
，
Only complaint is that isn’t longer。
Matthew Jordan
，
Fine， I suppose！ I think it was good。 I didn't take notes。 Oops。 I find that it's almost impossible to write compellingly about the world of finance。 The whole thing is so complicated。 I get dizzy almost immediately。 The economy is impossible to conceptualize。 I don't know how to think about， like， how prices become set， or how stocks actually get traded， or how derivatives markets work， or how currencies are exchanged。 It's everything happening all at once and you cannot slow it down and no one Fine， I suppose！ I think it was good。 I didn't take notes。 Oops。 I find that it's almost impossible to write compellingly about the world of finance。 The whole thing is so complicated。 I get dizzy almost immediately。 The economy is impossible to conceptualize。 I don't know how to think about， like， how prices become set， or how stocks actually get traded， or how derivatives markets work， or how currencies are exchanged。 It's everything happening all at once and you cannot slow it down and no one person actually understands it， and even the people whose job it is to understand it always seem to be a few steps behind， and even the people whose job it is to regulate it seem to only make marginal impacts。 It's a behemoth and I don't know how to think about it。 But， I suppose Jacob Goldstein does a good job at telling some fun stories， even though this NPR style of writing/communicating is really not my favorite。 Like， I almost feel like for something as complex as this it should almost not be allowed to write about it in a "pop science" style。 Or maybe I should stop complaining about what should and should not be written， and just focus on reading things I actually like。 Part of the reason I don't like this style， I think， is because it's perilously close to how I myself write and speak about these topics。 Maybe it just hits too close to home？ Maybe there's a latent jealousy that I am not writing books like this？ I'll ask my therapist。 Stay tuned for answers in a future review。 。。。more
Rick
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Heard the author interviewed on NPR some time ago & bought the book for my shelf where it stayed for some time unread。 It's a very cursory and brief treatment of the history 。。。 past， current and future of money in the world。 If you have a finance background， you may find this book too superficial， as I often found it superficial and have no formal background in finance。 Overall， I had mixed feelings about the book。 It's based on a podcast and it's written in a very informal conversational style Heard the author interviewed on NPR some time ago & bought the book for my shelf where it stayed for some time unread。 It's a very cursory and brief treatment of the history 。。。 past， current and future of money in the world。 If you have a finance background， you may find this book too superficial， as I often found it superficial and have no formal background in finance。 Overall， I had mixed feelings about the book。 It's based on a podcast and it's written in a very informal conversational style。 As a result， it seemed a bit disjointed at times and there were times I wanted more information， background & details。 I learned a bit， but not enough。 I was entertained a bit， but not enough。 I have a better understanding of the subject， but not enough。 。。。more
Allan Pomerantz
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Book will show you that you really don’t know hardly anything about money。Book explains the history of money and it has changed over time。 In addition it looks at Bitcoin and other digital money。 It also looks at New Money Theory in simple terms。 Finally， it examines the shadow banking network and the dangers they pose in every financial crisis。
Nicholas
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Fun walk through the history of money。
John Devlin
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Breezy for sure and I think Goldstein leaves out the govts role in ‘08 — Fannie and Freddie owned a third of the mortgage market but the book’s doing a good job of explaining money quick。。His best point is that every so often money gets reinvented and things like cowrie shells or gold change into paper and electric code。Who knows where the future goes， except the dislocation will be painful。
James J。 Shea
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Fun， interesting， thought provokingMade me rethink how I look at money， budgets， and debt。 Cleverly written and surprisingly comprehensive。 Even better than his Planet Money episodes。
Mike Jorgensen
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Ok， I was very bored with this book in the first two chapters。 I almost put it down。 I've read several historical accounts of money and most of them tend to prattle on forever or skip over everything。 What I want is a sense of the origin and enough to understand modern issues。 This book dragged a bit in the beginning by citing countless figures whose names have already escaped me。 That being said， it laid a good foundation and then built a great book on top of it。This book was cruising at two st Ok， I was very bored with this book in the first two chapters。 I almost put it down。 I've read several historical accounts of money and most of them tend to prattle on forever or skip over everything。 What I want is a sense of the origin and enough to understand modern issues。 This book dragged a bit in the beginning by citing countless figures whose names have already escaped me。 That being said， it laid a good foundation and then built a great book on top of it。This book was cruising at two stars for the first two chapters， three stars for the following chapters， and everything from the 1800s to the present was a four-star read。 I think this may reflect more on me than the book。 I'm much more interested in recency and proximity。 。。。more
Mark Kuskie
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Great bookThe book is an easy read on the history of money and how it has changed over the years。 He also explains the history of money in the US。 It really is interesting and easy to read。
Jasmine
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I love reading non-fiction books on different topics and I was looking for a short book to read （I worry I may not complete my reading challenge this year） and Money seemed like just the book I would enjoy。 However， I was quite disappointed。 Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing just wasn't that good。 I think the author was trying to be funny， but he's no Bill Bryson， and I finished the book not gaining any understanding about money and economics。 At least it was a quick read。Addendum: on pag I love reading non-fiction books on different topics and I was looking for a short book to read （I worry I may not complete my reading challenge this year） and Money seemed like just the book I would enjoy。 However， I was quite disappointed。 Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing just wasn't that good。 I think the author was trying to be funny， but he's no Bill Bryson， and I finished the book not gaining any understanding about money and economics。 At least it was a quick read。Addendum: on page 5 is the following passage: "On the Northwest coast of North America， for example， at festivals called potlatch， Native American people spent days hanging out， making speeches， dancing， and giving stuff to each other。 Gift giving was a power move， like insisting paying the cheque at a restaurant。 Before Europeans arrived， high-status people gave furs and canoes。 By the twentieth century， they were giving sewing machines and motorcycles。 This wanton generosity freaked out the Canadians so much that the government made the practice illegal。 People went to prison for giving each other stuff。"Um， WHAT？ Perhaps Goldstein is trying to be humorous and cutesy， but the REASON that WHITE PEOPLE made potlatches illegal is to ERADICATE THE FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE。 Really， I should have just stopped reading at this point。 Also， when I treated my husband and sister to lunch the other day， something which they were really appreciative of， I didn't realize I was exerting a "power move"。You know what， I am so mad I am changing this from two stars to one star， just for that fucking paragraph minimizing the genocide of First Nations people。 。。。more
Matthew
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A pop economist （read: journalist） plays at presenting a broad-based view of monetary history that is both too much and， to a much greater extent， not enough。 Shallow and overly simplistic， the book reads like an extended episode of Planet Money: fluffy entertainment， consumed in a moment and lost just as quickly。
Ralph
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3。5 stars - Interesting and informative history on the concept of money。Although this is short and quick read， the reader gets a good introduction of how money， in all its forms， came about and a glimpse into the future of money。 For such a broad topic， the book could have been longer， providing an opportunity to delve deeper still into some of the more arcane topics like cryptocurrency。 I learned many new things about the history of money。Alongside The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of th 3。5 stars - Interesting and informative history on the concept of money。Although this is short and quick read， the reader gets a good introduction of how money， in all its forms， came about and a glimpse into the future of money。 For such a broad topic， the book could have been longer， providing an opportunity to delve deeper still into some of the more arcane topics like cryptocurrency。 I learned many new things about the history of money。Alongside The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World， this book provides many interesting jumping off points for further study。 。。。more
Parker Robb
，
Very good， concise， high-altitude explanation of the historical developments that led to our modern financial system， and how the system works as a result。 Before reading this I had a decent understanding of *how* it all worked; this book taught me the reasons *why* the system works the way it does， through the historical context of how each part and principle came about。 I highly recommend for anyone wanting to truly understand finance and the economy。
Jenna ❤ ❀ ❤
，
A quick and interesting book that I managed to learn a lot from in just 270 pages。 Favourite chapters were on the beginning of money in the ancient world and the last one which was about bitcoin。 Not feeling a proper review this morning， but that doesn't mean anything negative about the book （just me being lazy）。（PS - Did you know there used to be American bills featuring Santa Claus？ This was when banks in the US were allowed to print their own money and there were 8，370 different kinds of pape A quick and interesting book that I managed to learn a lot from in just 270 pages。 Favourite chapters were on the beginning of money in the ancient world and the last one which was about bitcoin。 Not feeling a proper review this morning， but that doesn't mean anything negative about the book （just me being lazy）。（PS - Did you know there used to be American bills featuring Santa Claus？ This was when banks in the US were allowed to print their own money and there were 8，370 different kinds of paper money in circulation。） tt 。。。more
Katrina Z
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Interesting i suppose
DavidJsays
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Really enjoyed this。 Will likely read again。
Yoly
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A very educational quick read。
Starla Gooch
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