Money

December 2, 2013
Blending history and economic analysis in his engaging first book, economist and bond investor Martin explains the development of sovereign currency and its critically important function in modern economies. This is familiar territory for both economists and non-specialists, but Martin approaches his subject in entertaining fashion, discussing monetarism and monetary theory, from John Locke to the Federal Reserve System. He pauses to consider “excessive accumulation, consumption, and competition for status,” which he dismisses as “hard-wired into the human brain,” though he fails to consider greed in a world divided into asset holders and not. Martin stresses the connection between money and freedom, explaining why money is a “one of the most powerful and important tools of democratic government.” He calls for “radical reform,” but it’s difficult to find Martin’s magic rabbit or discern what his actual reform program would entail. His puzzling Socratic dialogue to try to explain things at the end falls flat. Though possessed of a meaningless subtitle, Martin’s book is breezy, fluent, discursive, and informed. It holds considerable appeal for investors, their bankers, and those drawn to the mechanics of wealth. 19 illus. Agent: Natasha Fairweather.

February 1, 2014
What is money? If you think you know the answer, then you may not have thought hard enough about it, a problem that kings and commoners alike have shared throughout history. The Micronesian residents of the island of Yap, long a case study in the history of money, reckon currency by giant stones that, even if sunk in the ocean and therefore inaccessible, nonetheless have value. Their system matches the symbolic abstraction of money with a concrete basis for it. However, writes investor/economist Martin in this improbably lively account, that concreteness no longer underlies our modern economy: "The vast majority of our national money--around 90 percent in the US, for example, and 97 percent in the UK--has no physical existence at all." So is money merely symbolic? By one measure, perhaps. But Martin seeks a deeper understanding, relating money especially to power: If on one hand it served as an instrument of rule for sovereigns, it also reined in those sovereigns as something even mightier than they. By that light, as one medieval philosopher formulated it, money "is not the property of the sovereign but of the entire community that uses it." Martin expands on this provocative idea, suggesting that money is a system for allocating economic risk "by making a simultaneous promise of stability and freedom." All this talk can get quite heady, and that's not to mention the ancient Chinese proverb that "the fish is the last to know water"--i.e., those of us who use money are so deeply steeped in it that it's hard to think about, let alone answer the more important question: How much power should money have to govern our lives? Refreshingly free of jargon and long on ideas--including the thought that if it's money that got us into our current mess, it's money that can get us out of it.

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February 1, 2014

The use of money seems second nature to most, and perhaps many people do not think about how monetary systems work. However, a deep understanding of these systems can create new financial opportunities and advantages. Here, London-based economist Martin (formerly with the World Bank; associate of George Soro's Inst. for New Economic Thinking) shows that money is one of the greatest inventions of mankind, tracing its roots to interactions between Mesopotamia and ancient Greece. He chronicles the different kinds of money used by various cultures and through these discussions defines the concept of money. Martin skillfully draws parallels between the old world and the present-day and explains how individuals throughout the ages have made profits in money markets. The perspectives of great economic thinkers such as Adam Smith, Milton Friedman, and John Maynard Keynes are included. VERDICT This insightful monetary history gives readers a better appreciation of money and its evolution and of current systems and financial events, especially crises. Because money is a complex and abstract concept, this book is geared toward readers with economic backgrounds or financial academic training in money and banking.--Caroline Geck, Camden Street Sch. Lib., Newark, NJ

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2014
Does money really need to be explained? Apparently it does, as economist Martin challenges the conventional theory that money emerged from the barter system. Offering a broad historical perspective, Martin begins with the pre-money society of The Iliad and The Odyssey. When the numeracy, literacy, and accounting concepts of ancient Mesopotamia met with the Greek concept of universal social value, the components of money took shape. He traces uncanny similarities in ancient and modern history of monetary maneuvers and crises and how citizens have created quasi currencyIOUs, checks, vouchersin reaction to government stumbles in Ireland, Argentina, and Russia. Martin details how the great merchant houses of Europe developed the banking system we currently know. Tapping philosophers and economists, including Plato, Locke, Marx, Bagehot, Keynes, and Greenspan, Martin clearly explains why, even though it seems arcane, it's important to understand the theory behind money, its origins, and how it has operated through the ages. This is economics written with sharp pacing and often amusing perspectives, raising mundane considerations of supply and demand to philosophical discussions of the meaning of value.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)