An educational analysis of the value and life cycle of money throughout the world. Super interesting!

This is a fascinating book! Well-written, David takes you around the world, explaining the value of money and how globalization has changed the value of what we buy. Engaging, revealing and educational, this is perfect for anyone interested in economics.

I bought the book due to the title. The Almighty Dollar. To me this title line would indicate a book trying to explain the role of the US Dollar as the world's reserve currency. Surpricingly it is nothing of the kind. The basic idea which is supposedly a pedagocical way to explain the workings of the world economy is interesting enough. To follow the dollar from country to country around the world using different examples of trade and financial transactions. The problem is that this is done very lightly. If you have followed the mainstream news from major news outlets over the past 10 years you will have heard about most things in this book already. The book keeps the explanations at a very superficial level so if the book should be rated it should be as beginners level or entry level economics. There is no coherence in the choice of examples which are picked rather randomly and it seems like pretty much from the top of the head trying to remember the news stream over the past 10 years. Disclosure: I have actually read the book. It has to be said though that some of the chapters were browsed rather superficially as I grew increasingly frustrated with the lack of substance. I am yet to understand what the message is that the author wants to bring forward to the world. To me it seems like it the kind of book coming out of the need to bolster an already impressive CV: "Now that I have the kids, the husband, the career, the international experience" "which boxes are there yet to tick?". "Ahh yes I need to write a book to tell the world that I am also academically gifted". "Bingo I quickly summarize the headlines I have covered in the news over the past 10 years and use my association with household name news outlets to get it published". What the book ought to have dealt with is the role of the Dollar and as to WHY the US dollar is the world's reserve currency , and how the mechanics work in order to grant it this status in the first place and to maintain it subsequently. Far more space should have been dedicated to the Federal Reserve's role in this, the Dollar coming off the gold standard in 1971, and how exactly US inflation and debt creation is exported through the dollar and what it means for the imbalances of the world economy. If you a looking for an easy to read book, covering a vast range of economic topics very superficially, jumping from one country to another all the time while trying to explain just about everything thus ending up with very little to show for it, well then this book might be for you. But there are definitely vastly better titles out there covering these topics no matter your level of insights into economics. It is not an easy task to write a book. This is the author's first book so I give the book 2 stars since any beginning is hard. One star for taking a project from beginning to end. One star for the content of the book.