We spent last weekend in Guaymas on the beach. It was very relaxing and perhaps I’ll put up pictures of that later. I spent most of my time sleeping and reading. I nearly completed Weatherford’s The History of Money and Ludwig von Mises on Money and Inflation and was able complete Menger’s The Origins of Money. It’s rare that I have the opportunity to nearly finish three books in one long weekend – but that’s the magic of Mexico.
Menger’s book was mostly a disappointment. I was hoping for something more historical. In contrast, Weatherford’s history of money is fascinating and detailed (Weatherford is an anthropologist, not an economist and so offers an interesting angle) and provides a pretty concise historical development from the origin of money to the current age and into the future.
Menger offers more of an explanation as to why money developed as a medium of exchange devoid from the historical context in which that took place. This makes a much less interesting story and really, it doesn’t require much of an explanation to understand the why money plays this role and why that would have occurred in history.
Menger’s book was actually not on my list of 11 books below. I picked it to take a break from the other two. However, it’s on the same subject and so I’m still considering myself on track (it’s just 12 books now).