Table Of ContentPETER L. BERNSTEIN
For Barbara, once again and always.
They wonder much to hear that gold, which in itself is so useless a thing, should
be everywhere so much esteemed, that even men for whom it was made, and by
whom it has its value, should yet be thought of less value than it is.
Sir Thomas More (1478-1535). Utopia ofJewels and Wealth
inety-one years ago, Lytton Strachey observed that "Every history
worthy of the name is, in its own way, as personal as poetry, and its value
ultimately depends upon the force and the quality of the character behind it.-
True enough, but writing history is also hard work. It involves organizing masses
of facts-many of them unfamiliar-into a coherent story, developing ideas that
bear some logical relationship to the facts, and communicating the results in a
fashion that will interest more people than just the writer. As a result, the task
cannot be a solitary one. I know whereof I speak.
The first of my acknowledgments goes to my wife, Barbara, who is also my
business partner. Her contribution to this book was significant on all levels. Her
many positive suggestions, her equally valuable criticisms, her diligent editing,
and her unfailing inspiration were all essential to the completion of the task. It
never would have happened without her.
This book was my third partnership with my editor, Peter Dougherty. Peter
creates a unique intellectual adventure that is challenging, exciting, and great
fun. He has once again showed me how to transform a heap of jumbled ideas
into a coherent whole. His brilliant insights, his ready grasp of the subject matter,
and his total commitment as friend and guide to this project are visible on every
page. He is the editor that all writers wish for, and I can only hope that the future
holds many more of these stimulating and rewarding opportunities to work with
him.
Charles Kindleberger, my great friend and comrade-at-arms in World War II,
became indefatigably engaged in this work from the very beginning. His
generosity to me was boundless. He provided inestimable guidance to research
sources and shared his own research materials and notes without stint. He was
tireless in supplying suggestions, criticisms, and fresh viewpoints. He showered
the full benefit of his extraordinary knowledge of economic and financial history
upon every part of the manuscript. It was a rare privilege to have him as mentor
and intellectual companion.
I was also most fortunate in having Richard Sylla's bountiful assistance from
beginning to end. Dick's authoritative criticisms and recommendations provided
many significant improvements to the book by protecting me from
oversimplifications in interpretation and omissions of essential facts.
Throughout the entire process, Edward Klagsbrun's counsel and support were
essential in enabling Barbara and me to keep our eye on the ball.
Myles Thompson deserves my gratitude for his unremitting enthusiasm, editorial
assistance, and important support, as well as many valuable suggestions about
the content and development of the undertaking.
Three friends and colleagues were also kind enough to read the full manuscript.
My two-time co-author and great friend, Robert Heilbroner, as so often in the
past, gave me the benefit of his historical expertise, his deep understanding of
economics, and his great talent for literary quality. Peter Brodsky led me to
important clarifications in areas that suffered from undue fuzziness in the early
drafts. Elliott Howard drew my attention to a long list of flaws and offered
helpful comments on the subject of gold.
The team at Wiley under JeffBrown's confident leadership went to the limit on
our behalf, with enthusiasm, skill, and gracious responsiveness to our needs. In
addition to Jeff, this group included, in alphabetical order, Sylvia Coates, Mary
Daniello, Peter Knapp, Livia Llewellyn, Meredith McGinnis, Joan O'Neil, Lori
Sayde-Mehrtens, and Jennifer Wilkin.
Everett Sims's conscientious editing has added polish, grace, and clarity to many
rough edges. I am also grateful to Ev for proposing that I should write a book
about gold. Although there were many moments when I wished I had not
listened to him, I am confident that no other topic would have captured my
interest as this one has.
I was fortunate to work with a group of skillful, imaginative, and indefatigable
research assistants. They saved me many hours of labor and made useful
contributions at the same time. Here they are, in the sequence in which they
served: Michelle Lee, Susan Cohen, Steven Sherrifs, Betsy Wallen, and Linda
Chang. Our business associate, Barbara Fotinatos, saw to it that the project kept
moving along, not least by contributing her expert guidance in the language and
habits of the Greeks.
I am pleased to express special gratitude to Andrew Freeman, who arranged for
the staff of The Economist in London to permit Barbara and me to spend several
hours in the privacy of their Directors' Room reading issues of their invaluable
publication from the 1920s and 1930s. As readers will note in Chapters 17 and
18, this fascinating material brought the times to life as nothing else could have.
The following people also provided significant assistance along the way and
deserve my warmest thanks: Barbara Boehm, Ulla BuchnerHoward, Mike
Clowes, Barclay Douglas, Hans Falkena, Rob Ferguson, Benjamin Friedman,
Milton Friedman, Alan Greenspan, James Howell, Henry Hu, Steve Jones,
Dwight Keating, Leora Klapper, Benjamin Levene, Richard Rogalski, Paul
Samuelson, Ronald Sobel, and Gentaro Yura.
Convention dictates that the author relieves all of the above from any
responsibility for errors that may remain in the manuscript. Charlie Kindleberger
decries this convention, pointing out that the author, after all, depended on the
authority of these individuals in preparing the work and should not be expected
to check out the accuracy of their suggestions. The quality of the assistance I
have received on this occasion assures me that, just for once, Charlie is
mistaken. All errors that remain in the manuscript are mine. May we hope that
they are few and far between.
P. L. B.
PROLOGUE: The Supreme Possession 1
A METAL FOR ALL SEASONS
1. Get Gold at All Hazards 9
2. Midas's Wish and the Creatures of Pure Chance 18
3. Darius's Bathtub and the Cackling of the Geese 38
4. The Symbol and the Faith 52
5. Gold, Salt, and the Blessed Town 66
6. The Legacy of Eoba, Babba, and Udd 74
7. The Great Chain Reaction 85
8. The Disintegrating Age and the Kings' Ransoms 96
9. The Sacred Thirst 114
THE PATH TO TRIUMPH
10. The Fatal Poison and Private Money 135
11. The Asian Necropolis and Hien Tsung's Inadvertent Innovation 158
12. The Great Recoinage and the Last of the Magicians 175
13. The True Doctrine and the Great Evil 198
14. The New Mistress and the Cursed Discovery 219
15. The Badge of Honor 239
16. The Most Stupendous Conspiracy and the Endless Chain 260
THE DESCENT FROM GLORY
17. The Norman Conquest 283
18. The End of the Epoch 306
19. The Transcending Value 328
20. World War Eight and the Thirty Ounces of Gold 346
Description:In this exciting new book, Peter L. Bernstein, who chronicled the evolution of risk in his recent bestseller, Against the Gods, tells the story of history's most coveted, celebrated, and inglorious asset: gold. From the ancient fascinations of Moses and Midas through the modern convulsions caused by
