"[A] magnificent history of money and finance."—New York Times Book Review "Convincingly makes the case that finance is a change-maker of change-makers."—Financial Times In the aftermath of recent financial crises, it's easy to see finance as a wrecking ball: something that destroys fortunes and jobs, and undermines governments and banks. In Money Changes Everything, leading financial historian William Goetzmann argues the exact opposite—that the development of finance has made the growth of civilizations possible. Goetzmann explains that finance is a time machine, a technology that allows us to move value forward and backward through time; and that this innovation has changed the very way we think about and plan for the future. He shows how finance was present at key moments in history: driving the invention of writing in ancient Mesopotamia, spurring the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome to become great empires, determining the rise and fall of dynasties in imperial China, and underwriting the trade expeditions that led Europeans to the New World. He also demonstrates how the apparatus we associate with a modern economy—stock markets, lines of credit, complex financial products, and international trade—were repeatedly developed, forgotten, and reinvented over the course of human history. Exploring the critical role of finance over the millennia, and around the world, Goetzmann details how wondrous financial technologies and institutions—money, bonds, banks, corporations, and more—have helped urban centers to expand and cultures to flourish. And it's not done reshaping our lives, as Goetzmann considers the challenges we face in the future, such as how to use the power of finance to care for an aging and expanding population. Money Changes Everything presents a fascinating look into the way that finance has steered the course of history.

Money Changes Everything explores central questions around the concept and institution of money: How does money affect our lives, our relationships, our happiness? What does inequality mean for our society? Does money corrupt our morals and values, and if so, how can we prevent this corruption? Readings by a range of economists, philosophers, reporters, artists, and ordinary citizens take up these questions and more. The Web site for the Spotlight Series offers comprehensive instructor support with sample syllabi and additional teaching resources. The Bedford Spotlight Reader Series is an exciting new line of single-theme readers, each featuring Bedford’s trademark care and quality. The readers in the series collect carefully chosen readings sufficient for an entire writing course—about 30 selections—to allow instructors to provide carefully developed, high-quality instruction at an affordable price. Bedford Spotlight Readers are designed to help students make inquiries from multiple perspectives, opening up topics such as money, food, sustainability, and gender to critical analysis. The readers are flexibly arranged in thematic chapters, each focusing in depth on a different facet of the central topic. An Editorial Board of more than dozen compositionists at schools focusing on specific themes have assisted in the development of the series.

While others debate or wring their hands, globalization has triumphed--and it is delivering unprecedented social and economic wealth to billions of people. Marber first proves once and for all that globalization is in fact improving life expectancy, literacy and education rates; extending leisure time; and delivering a broad new prosperity that touches most people and most societies.

The editors of The Friend Who Got Away are back with a new anthology that will do for money what they did for women’s friendships. Ours is a culture of confession, yet money remains a distinctly taboo subject for most Americans. In this riveting anthology, a host of celebrated writers explore the complicated role money has played in their lives, whether they’re hiding from creditors or hiding a trust fund. This collection will touch a nerve with anyone who’s ever been afraid to reveal their bank balance. In these wide-ranging personal essays, Daniel Handler, Walter Kirn, Jill McCorkle, Meera Nair, Henry Alford, Susan Choi, and other acclaimed authors write with startling candor about how money has strengthened or undermined their closest relationships. Isabel Rose talks about the trials and tribulations of dating as an heiress. Tony Serra explains what led him to take a forty-year vow of poverty. September 11 widow Marian Fontana illuminates the heartbreak and moral complexities of victim compensation. Jonathan Dee reveals the debt that nearly did him in. And in paired essays, Fred Leebron and his wife Katherine Rhett discuss the way fights over money have shaken their marriage to the core again and again. We talk openly about our romantic disasters and family dramas, our problems at work and our battles with addiction. But when it comes to what is or is not in our wallets, we remain determinedly mum. Until now, that is. Money Changes Everything is the first anthology of its kind—an unflinching and on-the-record collection of essays filled with entertaining and enlightening insights into why we spend, save, and steal. The pieces in Money Changes Everything range from the comic to the harrowing, yet they all reveal the complex, emotionally charged role money plays in our lives by shattering the wall of silence that has long surrounded this topic.

Was punk just another moment in music history, a flash in time when a group of young rebels exploded in a fury of raw sound? Greil Marcus delves into the afterlife of punk as a much richer phenomenon and as a form of artistic and social rebellion.

Financial markets have fueled American prosperity for more than two centuries, so why are they often distrusted and criticized as harmful? The United States has had robust financial markets practically from the date the nation was founded. Within several years of ratifying the Constitution, the depth and breadth of America's banking and securities markets rivaled those of any other developed nation. And that's a good thing. America's financial system is inseparable from America's enormous growth, productivity, and prosperity. And while it's become popular to lay a host of ills at the feet of financial markets, markets are not themselves the cause of financial instability, income stagnation, or declining investment in productive endeavors. While our system is not perfect, many people would likely be shocked to learn just how many financial market deficiencies have been caused by harmful government policies. By providing historical context and a thorough yet easily accessible explanation of US financial markets, authors Norbert Michel and Jennifer Schulp provide a much-needed counterpoint to current debates and criticisms. Financing Opportunity not only busts many popular myths about financial markets but also proposes ways to improve how our financial markets function. With financial markets and American opportunity so closely tied, financial policy is vital to supporting growth, productivity, and prosperity.

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