I had no idea the history of money would be so interesting. Much credit goes to the author's writing style but also the flow and content of the book was very informative. I especially like the evolution of coinage from Rome to Florence and beyond. And the freedom involved in money, for example, being able to pay a fine instead of being stoned to death for being a thief.

And the possibility that Greek thought become more open once money flowed in the Hellenistic world.

The United States' government is currently looking to eliminate production of the penny, citing the cost of producing it (more than one cent). Perhaps officials would be well served by reading David McWilliams' new book, The History of Money to better understand the role, meaning, and purposes of this coin before taking action.

The History of Money is a well written and interesting world history from ancient, essentially pre-historic, times to the modern day. In fairness, a fully global effort is a massive undertaking and this book is not that: Yes, there is some discussion that includes parts of Asia and Africa, but it is really tightly focused on the western (Europe and America) world. That being said, it is a good read.

McWilliams paints a fascinating picture of money's creation and role from earliest civilizations forward. While at times he seems to perhaps over-credit money's role (for example, the medieval guilds were about other things than just facilitating trade - such as controlling and even limiting competition), there is much to learn about it. It is remarkable to see how little has changed in many respects, even going back to ancient Rome and earlier - perhaps because, as McWilliams claims, there are universal and unchanging human needs that are met by money.

Having taken the reader on a good tour of societies and economic systems throughout history, McWilliams even looks at very current trends. He paints a rather damning portrait of some of them - notably bitcoin and cryptocurrency - and praises some others developing in places like Kenya.

Bottom line: The History of Money makes for a good investment of the reader's time. It is well researched and thought out, likely to give that reader new insights and understanding as well as a genuine interesting time.

David McWilliams gives an entertaining account of the history of money, and manages to make it informative as well as interesting. A gifted writer and a very intelligent man, this was definitely worth the read. I enjoyed his insights.

An excellent world-history through the lens of how finance and money (not necessarily the same thing, McWilliams argues persuasively) have been large factors in most historical. Again and again he showcases that there is a wide space between what economists write down on paper as the logical plan and projection for the money - and then all the crazy, emotion based decisions humans make when it comes to money.

From ancient debit and credit marks on sticks that pre-date agriculture to today's cryptocurrency, human events have always swirled around the idea of money.

McWilliams covers everything, and shows how it all connects, from debts in Rome leading to a printing press being put to a revolutionary use by Martin Luther, to a stock slump in railroad shares leading to Darwin's <i>On the Origin of the Species</i>, to a WWII POW camp leading to new theories of economics, and more.

I loved getting an outsider (McWilliams is Irish) examination of America's history of finance, as he both praises decisions post-Revolution to embrace federalism, while also dragging Burr and Hamilton across the coals for letting emotion get in the way of being rational.

A useful read to see how we do the same thing over and over again, no matter how we dress it up with new nouns, this is a fascinating history.

McWilliams has this knack for taking something that sounds like it could be a snooze-fest and actually making it fun to read. The History of Money is a great read if you’re curious about why money is the way it is but don’t want to slog through a textbook. McWilliams makes it engaging, funny, and just the right amount of nerdy.

This is a nice quick and entertaining grand history book on the evolution of money. What it lacks in depth, it provides in entertaining anecdotes and stories which make this a fun read.