The Best Books About Money
by Lyn Alden
In "Broken Money," Lyn Alden examines how fiat money systems have gradually degraded since the end of the gold standard in 1971, leading to rising global debt, increased financial instability, and growing wealth inequality. She makes a compelling case that our current monetary system, based on pure fiat currency and extensive credit creation, isn't just failing – it's actively making our financial lives harder, particularly through inflation and boom-bust cycles.
by Andrew Dickson White
"Fiat Money Inflation in France" tells the story of how Revolutionary France's experiment with printing paper money (assignats) in the 1790s turned into an absolute disaster. White shows how the government started with "just a little" money printing to solve their debt problems, promised it would be limited, but kept printing more and more until the currency became worthless.
Despite seeing prices skyrocket and their currency collapse, French politicians kept insisting that printing more money was the solution. It's a powerful warning about how inflation can spiral out of control when governments convince themselves they can print their way to prosperity.
Amazing to see that the same arguments for money printing are repeated today
by Jörg Guido Hülsmann
In "The Ethics of Money Production," Hülsmann tackles a question most of us never think to ask: Is there a moral dimension to how money is created? His answer is a resounding yes. He argues that our modern system of fiat money and central banking isn't just economically problematic – it's ethically wrong. Why? Because it lets certain groups (mainly governments and banks) create money out of thin air, which quietly transfers wealth from everyday savers to those closest to the money printer. Think of it as a hidden tax that nobody voted for. Hülsmann makes a compelling case that sound money isn't just about economics; it's about fairness, honesty, and protecting people's right to keep the value of their hard-earned savings.
by Saifedean Ammous
In "The Bitcoin Standard," Ammous drops a compelling argument: money has always evolved from easy-to-produce to hard-to-produce forms, and Bitcoin represents the next major leap in this evolution. He walks through how society has gone from seashells to gold to fiat currency, making a fascinating case that Bitcoin's fixed supply and digital scarcity make it the hardest form of money ever invented. The big takeaway? Our current fiat system encourages high time preference (living for today) while Bitcoin, like gold before it, encourages low time preference (planning for tomorrow). It's a deep dive into monetary history that explains not just what makes good money, but how the type of money a society uses shapes everything from art to architecture to time itself.
This book gives a great background on monetary history and what is wrong with the current system
by Adam Fergusson
"When Money Dies" by Adam Fergusson details the catastrophic hyperinflation in Weimar Germany during the early 1920s. It describes how the German mark's value plummeted, leading to an economic collapse where money became nearly worthless, causing severe societal disruption. The book examines the psychological and economic impacts of this inflation, offering lessons on the dangers of unchecked monetary policy.
by Carl Menger
In "The Origins of Money," Carl Menger reveals that money wasn't created by governments but emerged naturally when people trading goods realized that certain items (like precious metals) worked better as a universal medium of exchange. It's a powerful insight that shows how money is simply humanity's practical solution to make trade easier.
by Saifedean Ammous
In "The Fiat Standard," Ammous takes a fascinating deep dive into how our modern money system really works - and he's not impressed. Think of this as a follow-up to his "Bitcoin Standard," but here he's dissecting how fiat currency has become more than just money - it's a whole system that affects everything from education to food production. His main punch? The fiat system is basically a giant debt machine that forces everyone to become an unwitting investor, creates constant inflation, and makes saving nearly impossible. He argues that by ditching the gold standard and embracing fiat, we've built an unsustainable house of cards that's reshape our entire society, and not in a good way.
by Murray N. Rothbard
In "What Has Government Done to Our Money?" Rothbard tells a story that'll make you look at your wallet differently. He breaks down how money started as a free-market phenomenon (think: gold and silver) but was gradually taken over by governments who couldn't resist the temptation to meddle with it. The big takeaway? Every time governments get involved with money, they tend to debase it, whether it was ancient kings shaving bits off coins or modern central banks creating digital dollars out of thin air. It's a sharp critique that shows how government intervention in money has led to inflation, business cycles, and the slow erosion of our purchasing power.
by G. Edward Griffin
The Creature from Jekyll Island" tells the wild story of how the Federal Reserve was born in 1910, when a group of powerful bankers secretly met on Jekyll Island, Georgia. Griffin lays out how this meeting led to creating America's central bank, but here's the real kicker – he argues the Fed isn't actually federal, and it doesn't hold any real reserves. It's basically a cartel of private banks with government backing. The book's main message? Our modern banking system was designed to benefit the financial elite while quietly transferring wealth from everyday people through inflation. Whether you buy into every detail or not, it's a compelling look at how our monetary system really works behind the scenes.