Money isn’t just something we spend. It’s one of humanity’s most powerful “inventions,” shaping who rises, who falls, and how societies hold together. In The History of Money, economist David McWilliams takes you from grain ledgers in ancient Sumer (and the first “spreadsheets” on clay tablets) to coins that helped birth democracy, to the medieval banking hacks that quietly rewired Europe, and finally to fiat money, QE, and crypto’s hype cycle.
Along the way, you’ll see money used as a weapon (counterfeiting schemes and deliberate devaluation), as a civic glue (trust turned into trade), and as a mirror for human psychology (bubbles, panics, and the madness of crowds). If you’ve ever wondered why money feels “made up” yet runs the world, this summary connects the dots—fast, clear, and surprisingly fun.
