Naked Money: A Revealing Look at Our Financial System

Business & Finance, Economics, Inflation, Money & Monetary Policy, Finance & Investing, Banks & Banking
Cover of the book Naked Money: A Revealing Look at Our Financial System by Charles Wheelan, W. W. Norton & Company
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Charles Wheelan ISBN: 9780393292893
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Publication: April 4, 2016
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company Language: English
Author: Charles Wheelan
ISBN: 9780393292893
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication: April 4, 2016
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company
Language: English

Charles Wheelan’s wonderfully whimsical, best-selling Naked series tackles the weird, surprisingly colorful world of money and banking.

Consider the $20 bill.

It has no more value, as a simple slip of paper, than Monopoly money. Yet even children recognize that tearing one into small pieces is an act of inconceivable stupidity. What makes a $20 bill actually worth twenty dollars? In the third volume of his best-selling Naked series, Charles Wheelan uses this seemingly simple question to open the door to the surprisingly colorful world of money and banking.

The search for an answer triggers countless other questions along the way: Why does paper money (“fiat currency” if you want to be fancy) even exist? And why do some nations, like Zimbabwe in the 1990s, print so much of it that it becomes more valuable as toilet paper than as currency? How do central banks use the power of money creation to stop financial crises? Why does most of Europe share a common currency, and why has that arrangement caused so much trouble? And will payment apps, bitcoin, or other new technologies render all of this moot?

In Naked Money, Wheelan tackles all of the above and more, showing us how our banking and monetary systems should work in ideal situations and revealing the havoc and suffering caused in real situations by inflation, deflation, illiquidity, and other monetary effects. Throughout, Wheelan’s uniquely bright-eyed, whimsical style brings levity and clarity to a subject often devoid of both. With illuminating stories from Argentina, Zimbabwe, North Korea, America, China, and elsewhere around the globe, Wheelan demystifies the curious world behind the paper in our wallets and the digits in our bank accounts.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Charles Wheelan’s wonderfully whimsical, best-selling Naked series tackles the weird, surprisingly colorful world of money and banking.

Consider the $20 bill.

It has no more value, as a simple slip of paper, than Monopoly money. Yet even children recognize that tearing one into small pieces is an act of inconceivable stupidity. What makes a $20 bill actually worth twenty dollars? In the third volume of his best-selling Naked series, Charles Wheelan uses this seemingly simple question to open the door to the surprisingly colorful world of money and banking.

The search for an answer triggers countless other questions along the way: Why does paper money (“fiat currency” if you want to be fancy) even exist? And why do some nations, like Zimbabwe in the 1990s, print so much of it that it becomes more valuable as toilet paper than as currency? How do central banks use the power of money creation to stop financial crises? Why does most of Europe share a common currency, and why has that arrangement caused so much trouble? And will payment apps, bitcoin, or other new technologies render all of this moot?

In Naked Money, Wheelan tackles all of the above and more, showing us how our banking and monetary systems should work in ideal situations and revealing the havoc and suffering caused in real situations by inflation, deflation, illiquidity, and other monetary effects. Throughout, Wheelan’s uniquely bright-eyed, whimsical style brings levity and clarity to a subject often devoid of both. With illuminating stories from Argentina, Zimbabwe, North Korea, America, China, and elsewhere around the globe, Wheelan demystifies the curious world behind the paper in our wallets and the digits in our bank accounts.

More books from W. W. Norton & Company

Cover of the book Wilde in America: Oscar Wilde and the Invention of Modern Celebrity by Charles Wheelan
Cover of the book Servants of the Map: Stories by Charles Wheelan
Cover of the book The Cosmopolitan Canopy: Race and Civility in Everyday Life by Charles Wheelan
Cover of the book A Human Eye: Essays on Art in Society, 1996-2008 by Charles Wheelan
Cover of the book Hunting in the Shadows: The Pursuit of al Qa'ida since 9/11 by Charles Wheelan
Cover of the book Edit Yourself: A Manual for Everyone Who Words with Words by Charles Wheelan
Cover of the book Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth by Charles Wheelan
Cover of the book Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II by Charles Wheelan
Cover of the book Bodies in Motion and at Rest: On Metaphor and Mortality by Charles Wheelan
Cover of the book The Mission: Waging War and Keeping Peace with America's Military by Charles Wheelan
Cover of the book The Discovery of Middle Earth: Mapping the Lost World of the Celts by Charles Wheelan
Cover of the book Caliban's Shore: The Wreck of the Grosvenor and the Strange Fate of Her Survivors by Charles Wheelan
Cover of the book The Second Circle: How to Use Positive Energy for Success in Every Situation by Charles Wheelan
Cover of the book Stormy Weather: A Charlotte Justice Novel by Charles Wheelan
Cover of the book No Two Alike: Human Nature and Human Individuality by Charles Wheelan
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy