In the Yap Islands in the South Pacific it can be a stone with a hole in the middle. It can be a string of shells, a bundle of cloth or a copper slab. It's the stuff that makes the world go round. That doesn t grow on trees. That can't buy you love, apparently. In this fascinating and thoughtprovoking book, Martin Jenkins explores the history of money from its earliest beginnings to the electronic banking of today. Along the way we learn about hunter gatherers, barter, clay tablets, goat swapping, precious metals, hard bargains, IOUs, interest, coins, Romans, taxes, inflation, paper money, currencies and exchange rates. Satoshi Kitamura's quirky, satirical drawings perfectly compliment the dry humour of the text and in the end we are reminded that money only exists because we believe in it.