The Ascent of Money
#891 of 2,654 all-time
The Ascent of Money
Niall Ferguson
8 people recommended it in 4 threads, 2016–2023.
1 commenter pushed back on it — worth reading the threads.
What people on Hacker News said
Ascent of Money is indispensable as a foundation for the whys and hows of banking from it's origins and first principles.
It explains what money and financial instruments are, by telling the stories of their history. Hes a great story teller, and for each aspect of finance that he explains, there's a story of a famous piece of history which it caused.
"The Ascent of Money" is much better primer on the evolution of financial system.
Ascent of Money - Niall Ferguson will start you from the very beginning, and does cover all the subjects you mentioned.
the corresponding multi-part documentary "The Ascent of Money" is a really good introduction to what money is and how it evolved over the past centuries.
Where it comes up
- Ask HN: Book recommendations for understanding financial systems? 2020 · 5 recommendations
- Ask HN: Books you read in 2023 and recommend for 2024? 2023 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models? 2017 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: What are the must-read books about economics/finance? 2016 · 1 recommendation