Liza Minnelli may have sung in the film Cabaret about money making the world go around. However, as we all saw in the autumn of 2008, money can also bring everything to a shuddering halt as banks around the world failed, stock prices tumbled, companies went out of business and countries went bankrupt.
This encyclopedia sets out to explain the development of money from historical, political and theoretical contexts using a wide range of events, policies and regulations. It does this by means of 350 alphabetically arranged entries covering all aspects of money and currencies from around the world. The history of money from its earliest roots in the bartering of commodities to recent developments of smart cards and electronic money is all dealt with. We therefore find entries for Ancient Chinese paper money; Spartan iron currency; de a ocho reales (pieces of eight); and Papal coinage. Lydia may have begun the practice of making coins back in the seventh century BCE. However, down through the ages different things have been used as money. There are therefore entries which describe the cocoa bean currency of the Aztecs; the goat standard of East Africa; the whale tooth money used in Fiji; and imported beer which was the medium of exchange on the black market in Angola during the late 1980s.
There is a strong emphasis throughout on entries dealing with inflation and deflation, disinflation and hyperinflation. The currency crises which took place in Argentina in 2001/2, Ecuador in 1999/2000 and Mexico in 1994 are all explained. Several entries describe the hyperinflation which many countries have experienced particularly in the aftermath of war or revolution. Other entries outline the establishment of central banks within countries; and important Acts of Parliament and Congress.
Most entries average one page in length and are laid out in a two column format. However several do extend for longer with the entry for the US Financial Crisis of 2008‐2009 extending to over three pages. All are clearly written in a highly accessible style with occasional black and white illustrations. Each includes cross‐references and a short bibliography for follow on reading. The 26 page bibliography at the end of the encyclopedia is a compilation of the references at the end of each entry. The work concludes with a 39 page detailed index which is extremely useful for accessing the specifics of entries.
A few niggles of currency jumped out at me while browsing the volume. The entry for the Royal Bank of Scotland notes that in 2009 a large percentage of the bank became government owned. However, the entry for the Bank of Scotland leaves the impression that it is still a stand alone company rather than being the subject of two mergers during the last decade. References to follow on reading are not always as current as they could be, e.g. Daniels and Radebough's International Business is now in a 12th edition of 2009 rather than just the 8th edition which is cited.
These comments aside, this is an authoritative work and should prove a useful addition for all reference collections.
