REVIEW: The History of Money: A Story of Humanity by David McWilliams (2-stars)

 TLDR: A lively premise weighed down by oversimplification and a mismatch between subtitle and substance.

McWilliams sets out to tell “a story of humanity,” but the execution feels much narrower. The book reads as if it were built around a handful of pre‑selected concepts (coins, credit, trust, markets) rather than a coherent historical arc. Because that structure is never made explicit, the narrative jumps abruptly across centuries and civilizations, often without context or connective tissue.

The opening chapter on Rome is engaging and cinematic, but the momentum falters quickly. The transition into the Middle Ages is especially thin, relying on broad generalizations about Western Europe (“command and control economy,” “work hard to go to heaven”) rather than primary sources or meaningful economic analysis. Entire regions and monetary innovations — China, the Islamic world, the Mongol Empire, Africa, the Americas — are largely absent, which makes the subtitle’s claim to cover “humanity” feel overstated.

I’m also increasingly wary of books marketed as both a “breezy romp” and “important.” Those two promises rarely coexist well. When a book tries to be light, fast, and universal all at once, the result is often what happens here: a narrative that moves quickly but flattens complexity, oversimplifies history, and leaves out the very material that would make the subject genuinely meaningful.

The writing is accessible and fast‑paced, but often at the cost of depth. Readers looking for a TED‑style overview may enjoy the tone. Readers seeking rigor, global context, or a grounded history of monetary systems will likely find the treatment too superficial.

Recommended alternatives: If you’re genuinely interested in the history of money or want a more accurate picture of the medieval world, I strongly suggest pairing (or replacing) this with:

• Jack Weatherford’s The History of Money — a more global, anthropological, and conceptually coherent exploration of how money evolved across cultures.

• Matthew Gabriele & David Perry’s The Bright Ages — not a book about money specifically, but an excellent corrective to the flattened, Eurocentric Middle Ages narrative used here.

Bottom line: A quick, energetic read that overpromises on scope and underdelivers on depth. Best suited for readers new to the topic who prefer narrative momentum over historical nuance. REVIEW: The History of Money: A Story of Humanity by David McWilliams

RATING: 2-stars

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