Quick History of Money: From Bartering to Bitcoin (Quick Histories)

by Clive Gifford

《漫画金钱简史：从物物交换到数字货币》是一本关于金钱历史的科普漫画书。本书讲述了关于货币历史的有趣故事,上起约一万年前的物物交换,下至今天的数字货币,旨在带领读者快速了解关于货币,也就是金钱的重要概念,如利息、信贷、储蓄等,用通俗易懂的语言和生动形象的绘画,向读者说明了各种基础的经济学概念及诞生史。同时图书最后以时间轴的方式,直观地帮助读者了解金钱发展史上的重大发展节点,以问答测试的形式,帮助读者巩固书中了解到的金钱发展历史。

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Childrens, Money

121 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2022

About the author

Clive Gifford is a highly experienced journalist and author with over 170 books published and more than 800 features and stories written for adults and children.

Clive is an unusual author who likes to work in both fiction and non-fiction. Perhaps this reflects his unusual life which, so far, has seen him travel to over 70 countries, be held hostage in Colombia, go parachuting, coach several sports and run a computer games company.

He says: "What drives me more than anything else is the desire to communicate, entertain and inform through the written word."

Reviews

[Rosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read “A Quick History of Math: From Counting Cavemen to Computers” by this same author earlier, my expectations from this book were sky-high. And it doesn’t disappoint at all. From coins to cards, physical currency to crypto-currency, minting to spending to saving… everything that can possibly connected to money has been covered in this book. It even covers economics concepts such as inflation and recession. The overall journey of financial trade from basic barters to today’s computerised transactions is amazing to read. The book even provides some smart savings and money management tips at the end.

You might think that a topic such as money is boring or heavy but it’s covered in such a light-hearted and easy-to-understand way that it will appeal to preteens and teens. The hilarious illustrations are the icing on the cake.

This will be an enlightening read not only for children but also adults. Recommended not just to schools and libraries but also to families that want to teach smart money handling to their youngsters.

Thank you, NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group, for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.


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[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cash, dosh, dough, wonga, whatever you call money, there is a lot of it about, but seemingly never enough in our own pockets. Money is an imaginative human invention. It's the idea of using something with an agreed value that is accepted by people to make buying and selling transactions easier. The commodities that can be bought and sold can be almost anything, provided there is demand for it and a supply, from cheese to tea, clothes to horses and even children (thankfully many moons ago). Money also makes it easier to measure and compare and allows people to put a price or value on objects or work they carry out.

This book takes you through money’s amazing journey, from mighty, moneyless empires to the pizzas worth 270 million dollars and along the way checking out history’s wealthiest individuals, how banks make money from money and what the future may hold for money and you. It begins by exploring ancient moneyless societies then touches upon stocks and shares, ATMs, cryptocurrency and wealth and its association with equality. An interesting, informative read covering a lot of topics involving the history of money, and although categorised as children's nonfiction, I, as an adult, learned quite a lot that I didn't actually know. Highly recommended.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good book for the school library that discusses all aspects of currency – why we have it, what it's looked like throughout history, and why it's important to know the different types of debit interest, etc. It has a great eye for the trivial-seeming (the ridged edge, milling, on coins was introduced under the watch of Sir Isaac Newton to stop criminals clipping fragments of the coins off for their own precious metal supplies), and that comes across with the wacky cartoons that pepper each and every page. It's also extremely narrative, with a great flow from one double-paged spread to the next, however forced the link might appear. I hope there are enough educators out there with enough cowrie shells, sorry, 3 Euro coins, sorry, plastic banknotes, to make it a great success. Four and a half stars.

[MookNana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a solid enrichment book for older elementary kids, though I confess I learned quite a bit too! With bright, fun pictures and clear text broken into manageable chunks, this should engage students nicely. I really appreciated that many diverse aspects of money and trade were broken down in historical and social contexts across very diverse cultures.

It would make a great addition to a classroom library!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The information is relevant and presented in a fun memorable way (There are as many millionaires in the world as people who live in Spain. This is the kid of fact that kids love!). The explanations of complicated concepts like Bitcoin, inequality, and the financial crisis were accessible for children, and the cartoony illustrations and bonus features like a quiz and timeline are other pathways to engage readers. I'll recommend to fans of the popular Who Was? series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group, for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

[Tintaglia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un'introduzione chiarissima, piacevole e brillante ai principi base dell'economia, attraverso una storia del denaro nei millenni. E' sconcertante che in Italia non ci diano a scuola le basi principali per capire come si muove il denaro, quali sono le dinamiche che lo governano, e permetterci scelte (e magari investimenti) più ragionati.
Quindi ben vengano libri come questo, dedicati ai bambini ma utilissimi anche a certi adulti (come me XD).

[Elizabeth Mellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this series! They’re perfect introductions to the topics in the title, easy to understand, a little funny, with lots of information. Even as an adult I was able to learn something, I didn’t know a lot of the history of early coins and thought it was funny to find out that one Greek city-state had celery on the face of its coins.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one interesting book to read. We might know that before money, we trade things, but who did? And how? Did they truly got no money? What?

Amazed me when I learned that simple and compound interest was created long time ago. In a simpler manner, of course, but amazing that they thought to calculate all that.

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Bryan Witt · Rating 3 out of 5]

If it weren't for some of the pictures, this book would be 5-star. It is easy to understand, informative, engrossing, and often downright funny.