• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Menu
Community Library Logo
Search
  • Search the CATALOG for books and more
  • Search the CALENDAR for programs and events
  • Search the WEBSITE for general information
  • I Want To
    • Use My Library Account
    • Get a Library Card
    • Reserve a Room
    • Find Books and More
    • Renew or Place a Hold
    • Request an Item
    • Digital Collections
    • Computers and Printing
    • Ask a Librarian
  • Visit
  • Use the Library
    • Books, eBooks, and More
    • Children’s and Young Adult Library
    • Research and Learn
    • Center for Regional History
    • Reserve a Room
    • Library Policies
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Programs
    • Calendar of Events
    • Adult Summer Reads
    • Event Archive
    • 2025 Community Speaker Series
    • Library Book Club
    • Hemingway Distinguished Lecture
    • Sun Valley Early Literacy Summit
    • To Taste Life Twice 2025 Seminar
  • Wood River Museum
    • Wood River Museum Current Exhibits
    • Online Collections Database
    • Exhibition History
    • Museum History
  • Hemingway
    • Hemingway House and Preserve
    • Writer-in-Residence Program
    • Ernest Hemingway Seminar
    • Hemingway House Online Collection
  • Our Story
    • Staff and Board of Trustees
    • Library Blog
    • Newsletters and Reports
    • Employment & Volunteer Opportunities
Give and Support
  • The Community Library
  • Gold Mine Stores
  • Center for Regional History
    • Wood River Museum of History + Culture
    • Regional History Reading Room
    • Historic Photographs
The Community Library Association
  • The Community Library
  • Gold Mine Stores
  • Center for Regional History
  • Get a library card
  • I want to
    I Want To
    • Use My Library Account
    • Reserve a Room
    • Find Books and More
    More
    • Renew or Place a Hold
    • Request an Item
    • Use Our Digital Collections
    • Use a Computer/Print/Scan
    • Ask a Librarian
Community Library Logo
  • I Want To
    • Use My Library Account
    • Get a Library Card
    • Reserve a Room
    • Find Books and More
    • Renew or Place a Hold
    • Request an Item
    • Digital Collections
    • Computers and Printing
    • Ask a Librarian
  • Visit
  • Use the Library
    • Books, eBooks, and More
    • Children’s and Young Adult Library
    • Research and Learn
    • Center for Regional History
    • Reserve a Room
    • Library Policies
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Programs
    • Calendar of Events
    • Adult Summer Reads
    • Event Archive
    • 2025 Community Speaker Series
    • Library Book Club
    • Hemingway Distinguished Lecture
    • Sun Valley Early Literacy Summit
    • To Taste Life Twice 2025 Seminar
  • Wood River Museum
    • Wood River Museum Current Exhibits
    • Online Collections Database
    • Exhibition History
    • Museum History
  • Hemingway
    • Hemingway House and Preserve
    • Writer-in-Residence Program
    • Ernest Hemingway Seminar
    • Hemingway House Online Collection
  • Our Story
    • Staff and Board of Trustees
    • Library Blog
    • Newsletters and Reports
    • Employment & Volunteer Opportunities
Search
  • Search the CATALOG for books and more
  • Search the CALENDAR for programs and events
  • Search the WEBSITE for general information
Give & Support

Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing


Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing by Jacob Goldstein

I am Thijs. I enjoy reading (maybe a little too much) and being outdoors. I have a younger brother and my favorite dessert is root beer floats.

Money, a seemingly simple concept that I have always taken for granted. But what really is it and how have we all agreed that it has value? This book explores the early origins of money through more complicated concepts like FIAT, Commercial paper, Bitcoin and many other forms of money that has always confused me. This book will help you understand better how our economy works, banks were originated, the first stocks ever made, and other financial concepts. I believe that every reader could learn at least a thing or two about money from this book.

One of the craziest things that I learned was that on June 5, 1933 the U.S. left the gold standard. The gold standard is when money is backed by gold so if you wanted to, you could trade in your money in for gold. This could cause a lot of problems because if people wanted their gold all at the same time there wouldn’t be enough gold to be distributed. This happened in 1929 and helped trigger the Great Depression. As a result of leaving the Gold Standard in 1933, today money is backed by nothing. This means that money is only worth something because we think it is. That means if we all stop believing it is worth something it will not be worth anything.

The book “Money A Real Story About a Made-Up Thing” goes into the depth of all this. It would be a great book for people from the age 18 and up who want to learn about this complicated thing that our whole life revolves around. It is what we give up our time for to earn and then spend for necessities, and what we value. I bet this book will teach you a lot. I recommended it to my dad, and he loved it. So have fun reading this wonderful book Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing.

Find it in print here.

Filed Under: Book Beat Reviews

Primary Sidebar

Comlib

Support the Library

The Community Library’s free resources and services reflect the generosity of community members like you!
Donate
Gold Mine Stores
Volunteer

The Community Library

Location

415 Spruce Ave. North
PO Box 2168
Ketchum, ID 83340

Hours

Sunday
closed
Monday
10:00am - 6:00pm
Tuesday
10:00am - 8:00pm
Wednesday
10:00am - 8:00pm
Thursday
10:00am - 8:00pm
Friday
10:00am - 6:00pm
Saturday
10:00am - 6:00pm
Sunday
closed
Monday
10:00am - 6:00pm
Tuesday
10:00am - 8:00pm
Wednesday
10:00am - 8:00pm
Thursday
10:00am - 8:00pm
Friday
10:00am - 6:00pm
Saturday
10:00am - 6:00pm

Contact

208.726.3493
info@comlib.org

About us

  • Our Story
  • Staff and Board
  • Give & Support
  • Volunteer

Site Map

  • Home
  • Visit The Community Library Association
  • Events
  • Events and Programs
  • Use the Library
  • Catalog
Got a question? Ask Us

THE COMMUNITY LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

  • The Community Library
  • The Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History
  • The Gold Mine Stores

MAILING ADDRESS

PO Box 2168
Ketchum, ID 83340
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
2025 © The Community Library Association, Inc. All Rights Reserved | The Community Library is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization | Federal Tax ID 82-0290944