tl;dr I’m still not convinced about gold, but it was an extremely interesting and educational book that helped me understand what “money” really is.
Disclosure: I did not read this book but rather listened to the audiobook. My opinion is that it’s the type of book one can listen to but requires a relatively high level of concentration. Even though the audiobook is about 10 hours long, I must have spent at least 14 hours listening to it because of how frequently I had swipe back through some sections.
After listening to James Rickards on TIP (The Investor’s Podcast) a couple items, I had to read this book because hearing him speak shows how knowledgeable and experienced he is. If you are the least bit interested in economics, I absolutely recommend this book!
I’m somewhat interested in politics & history, but economics is still what gages my interest. This book is perfect since it explores politics & history from an economics point of view. It was therefore a very engaging and informative read. Starting with the 1900s, it explores how the gold standard has changed, the impact that WWI and WWII had on world economics, and where paper money is today. Russian, China and the US are the primary figured focused on, with the UK and Germany also playing an important role in the first half of the 20th century.
James Rickards is a bit advocate of the gold standard, but I’m still not convinced. I understand the need to have currencies being pegged to some reserve, but it doesn’t necessary need to be gold. All that’s needed is a very strict financial policy that cannot be malformed. In my opinion, this can be done using cryptocurrencies and a DAO, which is where the world is heading.
James did a really good job at explaining the role of gold, the fed, the IMF & SDRs, the benefit of devaluing one’s currency and floating vs fixed exchange rates. This understanding is making me appreciate cryptocurrencies a whole lot more.