The Power of Gold

The History of an Obsession

By: Peter L. Bernstein

Narrated by: Eric Conger

Over the centuries, gold had stirred the passions for power and glory, for beauty and security, and even for immortality. No other object has commanded so much veneration over such a long period of time. The most striking feature of this long history is that gold led most of the protagonists in the drama into the ditch. Gold had them, rather than the other way around.

Power and passion begin with the magical, religious, and artistic qualities of gold. As the story progresses from primitive uses to the invention of coinage and the transformation of gold into money and the gold standard, gold speaks more loudly of power as it acquires increasing importance as money. Ultimately, the book confronts the future of gold, in a world where gold has been relegated to the periphery of global finance.

Along the way, we meet Moses and Midas, Croesus and Crassus, Byzantine emperors and humble miners, unscrupulous moneyers and ransomed kings, Francisco Pizzaro and Benvenuto Cellini, Charlemange and Charles de Gaulle, Richard I and Richard Nixon, Asian monarchs and Arab potentates, Isaac Newton and Winston Churchill, David Ricardo and John Maynard Keynes, and the Forty-Niners and the speculators who pushed gold to $850 an ounce in 1980. It has been an icon for greed and an emblem of rectitude, as well as a vehicle for vanity and a badge of power that has shaped the destiny of humanity through the ages.

In the end, this story is a morality tale. The pursuit of eternity will not be satisfied by gold, or by anything else we choose to rpelace gold. Gold as an end in itself is meaningless. Hoarding does not create wealth. Gold makes sense only as a means to an end; to beautify, to adorn, to exchange for what we want and need.©2000 Peter L. Bernstein; (P)2000 Random House, Inc.

An auspicious start. Weak explanantions.

What did you like best about The Power of Gold? What did you like least?

The ancient history of gold was told very well. Where it failed was to explain clearly the economic issues pertaining to Gold in the 20th Century.

Would you recommend The Power of Gold to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes, the story of Gold turned out to be exciting.

What about Eric Conger’s performance did you like?

A little bit slow and ponderous.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No. I expect the hard issues which I did not understand well will be glossed over in a film and the parts that would be an interesting film would be the parts I understood.

Interesting economic history lesson

Good book and well researched but it does drag a bit. I have a degree in economics and it gives a nice history of the gold standard. However, the anecdotal mythological stories about gold in the beginning do not really mesh well with the rest of the story.

A Really Interesting Audiobook

Even though I've not studied economics I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook. Extremely informative, with lots of very interesting historical anecdotes, along with very easy to understand explanations: from the workings of the old Gold standard to how gold has under-pinned the financial systems of the world throughout history.

The Power of Gold is a great read

In a time of economic instability, many people turn to gold as a "safe port in the storm". This book is a great read telling about the history of humanity's love for gold.

One of my favorite books of all time!

I bought this book many, many years ago & have re-listened to it close to 10 times over the years. While it is non-fiction, the stories told about the history of gold make for fascinating listening. Having this 5,000-year perspective on gold gives me a clear idea of where gold is headed post-2019. And the author, Peter L. Bernstein, was a very credible economist. I have listened to many of his other books which are highly recommended, but this is my favorite for the content, the learning & most importantly the relevance in today’s environment of hyper money printing across the world!