The power of gold : the history of an obsession

New York: Wiley, 2000. Paperback. Very Good. A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. This volume recounts the timeless story of our obsession with gold. Mixing myth, legend, and historical fact, the author looks at the people, places, and events that have evoked desperation and frustration in human behavior. Starting with a broad palette of colorful characters, Pharaoh Hatshepsut, K ing Midas, Alexander the Great, Emperor Justinian, the Inca Emperor Atahual pa, Martin Luther, Kublai Khan, Sir Isaac Newton, and Charles De Gaulle, th e author recounts the sequence of events that led to gold becoming the inte rnational monetary standard in the 19th Century only to fall to obscurity a mid the collapse of the Bretton Woods System in 1971. This is the story of people so blinded in their pursuit of gold that they could not comprehend t he difference between useless metal and real wealth Includes bibliographical references (pages 397-407) and index Prologue: The supreme possession -- Get gold at all hazards -- Midas's wish and the creatures of pure chance -- Darius's bathtub and the cackling of the geese -- The symbol and the faith -- Gold, salt, and the blessed town -- The legacy of Eoba, Babba, and Udd -- The great chain reaction -- The disintegrating age and the Kings' ransoms -- The sacred thirst -- The fatal poison and private money -- The Asian necropolis and Hien Tsung's inadvertent innovation -- The great recoinage and the last of the magicians -- The true doctrine and the great evil -- The new mistress and the cursed discovery -- The badge of honor -- The most stupe.