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  • Naked Money

  • A Revealing Look at What It Is and Why It Matters
  • By: Charles Wheelan
  • Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
  • Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (15 ratings)

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Naked Money

By: Charles Wheelan
Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
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Publisher's Summary

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 $20?

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.

©2016 Charles Wheelan (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

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  • Dan
  • 31-08-2016

An amusing simple overview of money

Great book. It's not traditionally a fun subject but the author used a fair bit of humour throughout that made it easier to consume. He also uses lots of really great examples and parallels which really help to get the grasp of the concepts.

I didn't really know anything about inflation and interest rates etc so all the information was New and handy for me. If you already know how these things work then maybe it'd be a bit basic for you. books like these should be taught in schools though! it's definitely handy knowledge!

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The almost complete guide to monetary economics

Charles Wheelan delivers again, I read naked statistics before and it inspired me to pursue statistics from a different angle, I'm in my final year of Economics and finance and I can vouch for the academic soundness of this book, many complex ideas distilled clearly and eloquently into a framework that everyone can grasp. I highly recommend this book

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