The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession
Written by Peter L. Bernstein
Narrated by Eric Conger
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
Over the centuries, gold had stirred the passions for power and glory, for beauty and security, and even for immortality. No other object has commanded so much veneration over such a long period of time. The most striking feature of this long history is that gold led most of the protagonists in the drama into the ditch. Gold had them, rather than the other way around.
Power and passion begin with the magical, religious, and artistic qualities of gold. As the story progresses from primitive uses to the invention of coinage and the transformation of gold into money and the gold standard, gold speaks more loudly of power as it acquires increasing importance as money. Ultimately, the book confronts the future of gold, in a world where gold has been relegated to the periphery of global finance.
Along the way, we meet Moses and Midas, Croesus and Crassus, Byzantine emperors and humble miners, unscrupulous moneyers and ransomed kings, Francisco Pizzaro and Benvenuto Cellini, Charlemange and Charles de Gaulle, Richard I and Richard Nixon, Asian monarchs and Arab potentates, Isaac Newton and Winston Churchill, David Ricardo and John Maynard Keynes, and the Forty-Niners and the speculators who pushed gold to $850 an ounce in 1980. It has been an icon for greed and an emblem of rectitude, as well as a vehicle for vanity and a badge of power that has shaped the destiny of humanity through the ages.
In the end, this story is a morality tale. The pursuit of eternity will not be satisfied by gold, or by anything else we choose to rpelace gold. Gold as an end in itself is meaningless. Hoarding does not create wealth. Gold makes sense only as a means to an end; to beautify, to adorn, to exchange for what we want and need.
Related to The Power of Gold
Related audiobooks
Empire of Silver: A New Monetary History of China Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The Money Plot: A History of Currency's Power to Enchant, Control, and Manipulate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Captain William Kidd And Others Of The Buccaneers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Brilliant Commodity: Diamonds and Jews in a Modern Setting Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistory of the Vikings: An Enthralling Overview of the Viking Age Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Golden Age of Piracy: The Rise, Fall, and Enduring Popularity of Pirates Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMansa Musa: The Richest Man to Ever Live Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Blackbeard Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mali Empire: The Tales of Sundiata Keita, Mansa Musa and Timbuktu Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mansa Musa and the Empire of Mali: The life and tales of Mansa Musa and Sundiata Keita Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Millionaire: The Philanderer, Gambler, and Duelist Who Invented Modern Finance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe End of Money: Counterfeiters, Preachers, Techies, Dreamers--and the Coming Cashless Society Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Silk Road: A New History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The New Gold Standard: Rediscovering the Power of Gold to Protect and Grow Wealth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Silk Road and Black Death: An Enthralling Guide to the Routes That Connected Continents and the Event That Redefined Them Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTrue Life Story of Swiftwater Bill Gates Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of Jin Xu's Empire of Silver Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnruly Figures: Twenty Tales of Rebels, Rulebreakers, and Revolutionaries You've (Probably) Never Heard Of Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOne Nation Under Gold: How One Precious Metal Has Dominated the American Imagination for Four Centuries Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Crusader Gold Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Talisman Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Farewell the Trumpets Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Imprisoned with the Pharaohs Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Money & Monetary Policy For You
Pirate Money: Discovering the Founders’ Hidden Plan for Economic Justice and Defeating the Great Reset Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsForex: Trading Strategies & Analysis for Beginners; Learn Market Strategy Basics with this Fundamental Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Price of Time: The Real Story of Interest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fiat Standard: The Debt Slavery Alternative to Human Civilization Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crises Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saving Money: The Top 100 Best Ways To Save Your Money And To Spend Your Money Wisely Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Broken Money: Why Our Financial System Is Failing Us and How We Can Make It Better Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Core Confidence: Own Your Talent • Face Your Fear • Create Your Future Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Death Money: The Coming Collapse of the International Monetary System (Int'Edit.) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Money Made Easy: How to Budget, Pay Off Debt, and Save Money Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bitcoin for Beginners & Dummies: Cryptocurrency & Blockchain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5End Poverty. Make Trillions. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Financial Independence: Achieving Your Financial Freedom And Wealth Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Money Wisdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Digital Cash: The Unknown History of the Anarchists, Utopians, and Technologists Who Created Cryptocurrency Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Federal Reserve System Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Scandal of Money: Why Wall Street Recovers but the Economy Never Does Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Money in One Lesson: How it Works and Why Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Theory of Money and Credit Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Science of Getting Rich: Creation, Not Competition, is the Hidden Key to Wealth Attraction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Default: The Untold Story of FDR, the Supreme Court, and the Battle over Gold Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for The Power of Gold
41 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A fairly interesting book, although it does ramble off topic at times. Still, probably one of the better financial histories I've ever read.