Money in the history of mankind

Money makes the world go round, everyone knows that. Yet we often underestimate and overlook the importance of money to human culture and civilization. Where did this special tool actually come from, who invented it and who perfected it, what is the magic of its functioning and what, on the contrary, are the causes of financial crises and collapses? In his enlightening, sometimes irreverent, and ever-surprising journey, Irish economist David McWilliams maps the relationship between human history and monetary technology. It takes us through millennia of the history of money, from twenty thousand-year-old bone incisions from Ishanga to coins in Greek city-states, from medieval Arab mathematics to the French Revolution, and from the emergence of the US dollar to today' s cryptocurrencies. David McWilliams convincingly demonstrates that money in its various forms belongs in the same category as the use of fire, writing, and electricity: It is one of the most significant inventions and discoveries in human history, which profoundly changed and continues to change our lives and relationship to the world.

Economist, writer and columnist David McWilliams (1966) joined the Central Bank of Ireland after studying at Trinity College Dublin and the College of Europe in Bruges. He subsequently applied his education at UBS in London, Banque Nationale de Paris and the hedge fund Rockwest Capital, attracting media attention with his cautionary predictions about the development of the Irish economy. In 2002, he returned to his native Ireland and began a successful career as a columnist, commentator, and economic popularizer. He founded the unique " economic stand-up comedy festival" Kilkenomics in Kilkenny, Ireland, and is also a co-founder of the largest Irish literary festival, the Dalkey Book Festival. He is an associate professor at Trinity College Dublin and is considered one of the most influential economists of our time.