Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable, but are the facts right?
Review: I enjoyed reading this book as much as the author's other book "Against the Gods". However, I also have to wonder about Mr. Bernstein's editor or about whether I can really believe all the "facts" in the book. For example, on page 364 he mentions William Duisberg, ECB president, when I believe the correct name is Wim Duisenberg. Given that the other book was also full of glaring errors I have to be careful believing everything in the book, especially the more entertaining stories. Of course anybody can make mistakes. That's why I wonder if the editor really read through the book carefully.
But you don't stop listening to your friends or relatives tell stories just because they might not be the historical truth, so go ahead and enjoy reading this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A gem!
Review: I just finished Peter Bernstein's new book on Gold. What a wonderful book! I read Against the Gods a few years ago and also Capital Ideas from Peter Bernstein, so I was looking forward to his new story about Gold. The writing is engaging with stories about Gold that entertain as well as educate. This book is sure to be a classic for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: A look at gold for what it really is...
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it answered many of my nagging questions about gold's history and in some cases financial history. While I was well prepped by other comments on how this was more a "history" book rather than an "investment" book, I didn't expect the degree of insight it would offer me into our existing monetary system. I found that insight rounded out the book very well.Given the evolution in our financial and monetary system over the past few centuries, it amazes me to see the number of people who are still enamored with gold. The only real justification for holding gold is to be insured against a catastrophic event hitting the global financial system. Given that gold earns nothing waiting for that unlikely day, every investor has to ask them self how much they are willing to pay for that insurance. Peter Bernstein makes a fairly compelling case to look at gold for what it really is today - a commodity. Gold did have it's day in the sun, but that sun has now set...
Rating:
Summary: Should be a part of your library !
Review: I've got all of Peter Bernstein's books - he is to economics, finance and operations research what Carl Sagan is to science. Makes the subject come alive, and well worth every cent !
Rating:
Summary: My Conversion
Review: If I ever had the good fortune to meet Mr.Bernstein the author I would read him the riot act.....He has moved me kicking and fighting from the realm of fiction into the world of nonfiction. I have a lot of catching up to do as he has sparked all my youthful interest in history. Boy oh Boy what a tremendous writer......Thanks Mr.Bernstein
Rating:
Summary: Dense, somewhat boring but will probably endure
Review: It appears from the obvious publisher-placed comments that I may be one of the few people who has actually READ this book. With his no-doubt legions of researchers, Peter Bernstein obviously has his facts at hand, and they are plentifully strewn throughout the book. But this is not a business book, it is a history book about the enduring lure of the element Au. It took me about a week to finish this, and I found much of it interesting. But overall, I thought that it read like a well-researched thesis that will probably stand the test of time. There are some truly fascinating stories in it, and it is well written, but don't expect this book to tell you how to find gold or how to make enough money to buy gold. It is what it is: the history of a metal that has never lost its lustre.
Rating:
Summary: Auric Annals
Review: It takes rare skill for a writer to traverse several eras and still maintain a coherent narrative. Happily, Peter Bernstein has such skill. As the title indicates, filthy lucre has obsessed rulers from Croesus to de Gaulle, has inspired men to madness and has visited destruction on millions. The most enjoyable "conspiracy theory" to which Bernstein subscribes is that the "Wizard of Oz" was actually written as an economic satire on bimetallism, with the Yellow Brick Road representing the Gold Standard, the Straw Man representing the ineffetual William Jennings Bryan and the Wizard the evils of Wall Street. There is also an interesting insight into the misguided monetary career of Isaac Newton. As an economist, he made a terrific physicist.
Rating:
Summary: Gold as a Barbaric Relic of Greed for Adornment
Review: Mr. Bernstein skeptically sees gold as overrated and as potentially harmful. Think of this book as "The Tragedy of Obsession with Gold" as the story line. As Mr. Bernstein puts it, "This book tells the story of how people have become intoxicated, obsessed, haunted, and humbled over pieces of metal called gold." To make that point, the book begins with a story that Ruskin told about a man who is on a sinking ship with his gold. He gets the gold and jumps overboard, and drowns from the weight of the gold. Mr. Bernstein cites the analogy throughout the book for the fate that awaits those who are committed to their gold. The gold has them, rather than vice versa. Mr. Bernstein does a nice job of creating an on-going story line to put the role of gold in perspective. Gold first makes its appearance as an adornment for religious or personal purposes. This application leads to gold becoming used as money. Then gold helps create trade that only money can provide. From the trade comes power, and that power expands influence. Then as the world economy outgrows the supply of gold as a monetary stock, gold becomes a brake on economic growth. At the end of the book, gold is again turning into an adornment having been cut loose from being a reserve for the monetary stock. In this context, the book is about the rise and fall of the gold-based empire. That tale is best captured in the story of how little the gold from the Americas helped Spain economically. If a shortage of gold as money can slow down economic growth, an excess of gold can create inflation in general prices. That's the essence of Mr. Bernstein's argument about gold as a mercantile asset. Economic history is rarely so interestingly told, and Mr. Bernstein deserves a lot of credit for taking something that could have been dull and making it lively. He is an excellent story teller, and you will find what he has to say contains many new and interesting points. I was fascinated by the number of times that the fate of countries was affected by gold. Ransoms paid in gold for French Kings beggered that country on more than one occasion. The failure of worldwide wheat crops allowed the U.S. economic expansion to continue after the Civil War, as the U.S. was threatened with a shortage of gold needed for industrial goods. The Byzantine Empire lived on much longer than it would otherwise have by being able to buy defenders with gold. The Arab expansion was aided by access to gold. After World War I, the gold standard contributed to the Depression. Mr. Bernstein leaves us out on a limb about where our system of floating rate currencies will end. Without some form of global currency, we should see rapid distortions in economic results whenever such shifts in currency values occur. We are in the middle of one of those shifts right now between the dollar and the euro. Certainly, the universal government preference to debase the value of currencies will continue to plague us. Mr. Bernstein leaves us with no answer to the problem, except to be certain that returning to the strait-jacket of the gold standard is not it. I wonder if it is really that simple, or if we are facing a severe future disruption that will make gold look good by comparison. Certainly, a world currency seems inevitable, whatever its nature is. Realizing that gold can be harmful, does it seem any less beautiful to you? I found that my aesthetic preference for gold was unaffected by reading this book. I think you can appreciate gold without being greedy for it. Perhaps that's the lesson here. After you have finished enjoying this fun book, think about where else overreliance on something or some idea can be harmful. My favorite example is the desire to be popular. Most people will do foolish and harmful things that debase quality (much as they did with gold coins) to achieve popularity. One of my favorite examples is in a recent book where a CEO went on CNBC almost naked as a publicity stunt for his company's latest advertising campaign. Enjoy all things in proper perspective and moderation!
Rating:
Summary: Not bad.
Review: Not your typical gold book (most are Buy Gold Now! type books - this is an honest history), the author is a true historian that writes in a very easy to read and compelling style. I actually laughed out loud twice while reading his footnotes! One of the best books out there for getting a historical look at gold and its role in our world. Also gets you current on the last 100 years of the forces driving the international money supply.
Bernstein also wrote Against The Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk, another great read and hard to put down (a must for any gambler/investor).
Rating:
Summary: Great history of gold and money in general book.
Review: Not your typical gold book (most are Buy Gold Now! type books - this is an honest history), the author is a true historian that writes in a very easy to read and compelling style. I actually laughed out loud twice while reading his footnotes! One of the best books out there for getting a historical look at gold and its role in our world. Also gets you current on the last 100 years of the forces driving the international money supply. Bernstein also wrote Against The Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk, another great read and hard to put down (a must for any gambler/investor).
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