The Origins of Value
The Origins of Value is a sweeping survey of financial innovations that have changed the world. Wonderfully illustrated with over one hundred color photographs of landmark financial documents, this book traces the evolution of finance through 4,000 years of history. Readers see how and why many of our most important financial tools and institution loans, interest rates, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, the corporation, and the New York Stock Exchange, to name a few came into being. Placing our current age of financial revolution in a fascinating historical perspective, The Origins of Value tells a remarkable story of invention, illuminating many key episodes in the course of financial history.
"A lively history of finance.... The book is gorgeous. You can see the crimson illumination on the Ligatio pecuniae and read the fine print on a futures contract from the Dutch West India Co. Each chapter is a minihistory written by stars like Niall Ferguson and Robert Shiller, who explain in rich prose the connections between Chinese pawnshops, Greek moneylenders and, ultimately, the cash in your pocket."
— Jyoti Thottam, Time Magazine
"Possibly the first book designed expressly for Wall Street coffee tables."
"A nice addition to any investor's coffee table. Large and lavishly illustrated, it's a collection of essays by leading scholars on everything from the invention of interest in ancient Samaria to bonds in early America."
— Barron's
"A fascinating and insightful guide to the evolution of our modern financial system, set in its broad historical context so that the reader always sees the big picture."
— Matthew Bishop, Business Editor, The Economist, and author of Essential Economics
"The Origins of Value makes an important contribution to our understanding of global financial history. It suggests connections across Eurasia (e.g. possible Chinese origin of tallies used in early Medieval Europe, or the roots in ancient Indian mathematics of formulas used by Italian merchants), and plausible answers to important historical questions, like the thirteenth-century divergence, in fiscal terms, of China and Western Europe. The reproduced documents allow readers to see how scrutinizing records of the distant past requires almost as much ingenuity as the fiscal innovations that are the focus of discussion."
— James D. Tracy, author of Emperor Charles V, Impresario of War: Campaign Strategy, International Finance, and Domestic Politics