The Nature of Money, Geoffrey Ingham, predates Bitcoin and the financial crisis, but it is still the most incisive theoretical discussion of money I've read. If Debt: The First 5000 Years is undergrad, The Nature of Money is grad.
+1. You beat me to posting it. As you rightly pointed out it’s not an easy read.
I also recommend “The Invention of Coinage and the Monetization of Ancient Greece”. It succinctly covers second order effects of money. I got a good understanding of histories of phenomena that we take for granted such as salary. It’s fascinating to read about the transition.
As a meta, I’ve been fortunate to witness a similar momentous transition computers and internet/communication. I wonder what other transition we are going through right now.
Nice recommendation, I've added to my reading list.
I have read Graeber's Debt and it's a great book but always thought that it left out many so questions unanswered. His anthropological treatment of money is quite nice until feudalism, but when he starts explaining the start of the Enlightenment and the gold standard in Europe things seemed very rushed and inadequately explained. Also it only touches upon our current system (post-Bretton Woods neoliberalism) briefly in the last chapter, which was a letdown since I though Graeber would have many comments about our current configuration of society.
