The History of Money: A Story of Humanity

In this fresh, eye-opening global history, economist David McWilliams charts the relationship between humans and money--from clay tablets in Mesopotamia to cryptocurrency in Silicon Valley.

The story of humanity is inextricable from that of money. No innovation has defined our own evolution so thoroughly and changed the direction of our planet's history so dramatically. And yet despite money's primacy, most of us don't truly understand it.

As leading economist David McWilliams shows, money is central to every aspect of our civilization, from the political to the artistic. "Money defines the relationship between worker and employer, buyer and seller, merchant and producer. But not only that: it also defines the bond between the governed and the governor, the state and the citizen. Money unlocks pleasure, puts a price on desire, art and creativity. It motivates us to strive, achieve, invent and take risks. Money also brings out humanity's darker side, invoking greed, envy, hatred, violence and, of course, colonialism."

In The History of Money, McWilliams takes us across the world, from the birthplace of money in ancient Babylon to the beginning of trade along the Silk Road, from Marrakech markets to Wall Street. Along the way, we meet a host of innovators, emperors, frauds, and speculators, who have disrupted society and transformed the way we live. Filled with memorable anecdotes, and with a foreword by Michael Lewis, The History of Money is an essential, extremely readable history of humanity's most consequential invention.

Author: David McWilliams
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Published: 11/11/2025
Pages: 416
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.40lbs
Size: 9.50h x 6.50w x 1.40d
ISBN: 9781250408181


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 09/01/2025 pg. 84
Kirkus Reviews 10/01/2025
Booklist 11/01/2025

About the Author
David McWilliams is a former central bank economist based In Dublin. He hosts The David McWilliams Podcast and is the founder of the world's only economics and stand-up comedy festival, "Kilkenomics," described by the Financial Times as "simply, the best economics conference in the world." McWilliams also writes a weekly column for The Irish Times and is adjunct professor of global economics at Trinity College Dublin.