{"product_id":"money-changes-everything-how-finance-made-civilization-possible-9780691178370","title":"Money Changes Everything: How Finance Made Civilization Possible","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"[A] magnificent history of money and finance.\"--\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Convincingly makes the case that finance is a change-maker of change-makers.\"--\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the aftermath of recent financial crises, it's easy to see finance as a wrecking ball: something that destroys fortunes and jobs, and undermines governments and banks. In \u003ci\u003eMoney Changes Everything\u003c\/i\u003e, leading financial historian William Goetzmann argues the exact opposite--that the development of finance has made the growth of civilizations possible. Goetzmann explains that finance is a time machine, a technology that allows us to move value forward and backward through time; and that this innovation has changed the very way we think about and plan for the future. He shows how finance was present at key moments in history: driving the invention of writing in ancient Mesopotamia, spurring the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome to become great empires, determining the rise and fall of dynasties in imperial China, and underwriting the trade expeditions that led Europeans to the New World. He also demonstrates how the apparatus we associate with a modern economy--stock markets, lines of credit, complex financial products, and international trade--were repeatedly developed, forgotten, and reinvented over the course of human history. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eExploring the critical role of finance over the millennia, and around the world, Goetzmann details how wondrous financial technologies and institutions--money, bonds, banks, corporations, and more--have helped urban centers to expand and cultures to flourish. And it's not done reshaping our lives, as Goetzmann considers the challenges we face in the future, such as how to use the power of finance to care for an aging and expanding population. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003e Money Changes Everything\u003c\/i\u003e presents a fascinating look into the way that finance has steered the course of history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWilliam N. Goetzmann\u003c\/b\u003e is the Edwin J. Beinecke Professor of Finance and Management and director of the International Center for Finance at the Yale School of Management. His books include \u003ci\u003eThe Origins of Value: The Financial Innovations that Created the Modern Financial Markets\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Great Mirror of Folly: Finance, Culture, and the Crash of 1720\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50655724372242,"sku":"9780691178370","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_b8939510-10b2-4374-8a6c-34d76dde59e7.jpg?v=1737247462","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/money-changes-everything-how-finance-made-civilization-possible-9780691178370","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}