Rating: 
Summary: If it's so old-fashioned, why do they call it currency?
Review: Probably not the venue to launch into a tirade against the stultified, diploma/stock certificate-like house design style of the American treasury. But when you see the variety, color, flare and adventuresome spirit of other countries' currency designs, it is enough to make you positively ill. This is an old complaint, of course. This books visuals make a totally convincing case for the plaintiffs, however. There WAS one brief shining moment when American money designers put something better, a real world-class moolah design, in our wallets. --See the gorgeous 3 bill "Educational" series of the 1890's or the Buffalo dollar from the first decade of the 20th Century (with, yes, a full body engraving of a buffalo in the usual bureaucrat spot on front, and two bonus spots on the left and right bearing likenesses of Lewis and Clark). After this frolicking fist full of dollars, American currency design "went corporate"; there hasn't been a really fun or cool bill in almost a century now. The US post office has dolled up their issues to the point people accuse them of tackiness or pandering to populist taste. This is how we can see that stamps are alive as a design vehicle. When everything is august and handsome and tasteful, it is precisely as dead as...well, as American money design.
Rating: 
Summary: a beautiful book with an erratic tone
Review: This is a beautifully designed book with a wonderful selection of currencies. As a visual piece, it's a great book. However, what really surprised me was the tone of the text. The author mixes social commentary, political opinions, stale cliches, attempts at witticisms, straightforward history, and humor--often all within one paragraph. Not only did this inconsistent writing style make it difficult to read with continuity, it seemed incongruous with the subject matter. My personal recommendation--if you want to see a fabulous selection of currencies past and present, this book is worth it for the images alone. If you're looking for a well-written history and impartial evaluation of currency design, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: a beautiful book with an erratic tone
Review: This is a beautifully designed book with a wonderful selection of currencies. As a visual piece, it's a great book. However, what really surprised me was the tone of the text. The author mixes social commentary, political opinions, stale cliches, attempts at witticisms, straightforward history, and humor--often all within one paragraph. Not only did this inconsistent writing style make it difficult to read with continuity, it seemed incongruous with the subject matter. My personal recommendation--if you want to see a fabulous selection of currencies past and present, this book is worth it for the images alone. If you're looking for a well-written history and impartial evaluation of currency design, look elsewhere.
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