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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
_______________________________________________________ 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

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

‘A tour de force of economic history’ GILLIAN TETT

‘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

Publisher Review

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

— Peter Frankopan, author of ‘The Silk Roads’ ‘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 ‘Equally entertaining and insightful’ — Yanis Varoufakis ‘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 ‘David McWilliams is the best explainer of economics I know. Here he explains the world through money, and it’s fantastically entertaining. He’s the kind of writer who makes you feel clever, because he helps you grasp things you never understood before’ — Simon Kuper, author of ‘Chums: How a Tiny Caste of Oxford Tories took over the UK’ ‘McWilliams is charismatic, free flowing, unflaggingly engaging’ — Fintan O’Toole ‘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 ‘McWilliams has a great knack for bringing a complex economics story to life. He is also funny. In economics, that’s a rare and persuasive combination’ * 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