The Power of Gold : The History of an Obsession

In this exciting new book, Peter L. Bernstein, who chronicled the evolution of risk in his recent bestseller, Against the Gods, tells the story of history's most coveted, celebrated, and inglorious asset: gold. From the ancient fascinations of Moses and Midas through the modern convulsions caused by the gold standard and its aftermath, gold has led many of its most eager and proud possessors to a bad end. Gold had them, rather than the other way around. And while the same cycle of obsession and desperation may reverberate in today's fast-moving, electronically-driven stock markets, the role of gold in shaping human history is the striking feature of this tumultuous tale. Such is the power of gold. This fascinating account begins with the magical, religious, and artistic qualities of gold and progresses to the invention of coinage, the transformation of gold into money, and the gold standard. The more important gold becomes as money, the more loudly it speaks of power-even more loudly than when it served as an entry to Heaven or a symbol of omnipotence. Ultimately, the book confronts the future of gold in a world where it appears to have been relegated to the periphery of global finance. From the Bible to the Gold Rush era to modern day Fort Knox and beyond, unforgettable characters stride through these pages. Contemplate gold from the diverse perspectives of monarchs and moneyers, potentates and politicians, men of legendary wealth and others of more plebeian beginnings; from Asia Minor's King Croesus to Rome's noted speculator Crassus, to Byzantine emperors and humble miners, Venice's Marco Polo and Spain's Francisco Pizarro, to Charlemagne and Charles de Gaulle, Richard I and Richard Nixon, Isaac Newton and Winston Churchill, Britain's economists David Ricardo and John Maynard Keynes, and Christopher Columbus and the Forty-Niners. Perhaps most remarkable are the frantic speculators who pushed gold to $850.00 an ounce in 1980 just as their counterparts twenty years later drove Internet stocks to exorbitant heights. Whether it is Egyptian pharaohs with depraved tastes, the luxury-mad survivors of the Black Death, the Chinese inventor of paper money, the pirates on the Spanish Main, or the hardnosed believers in the international gold standard like the United States' President Herbert Hoover, gold has been the supreme possession. 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. As Bernstein muses, The joke is that nothing is as useless and useful all at the same time. Far more than a tale of romantic myths, daring explorations, and the history of money and power struggles, The Power of Gold suggests that the true significance of this infamous element may lie in the timeless passions it continues to evoke, and what this reveals about ourselves. About the Author: PETER L. BERNSTEIN combines the zest of a historian with the meticulous analytical powers of an economist. He is the author of seven books in economics and finance, including Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk and Capital Ideas: The Improbable Origins of Modern Wall Street . He is also President of Peter L. Bernstein, Inc., an economic consultancy to institutional investors, which he founded in 1973 after many years of managing billions of dollars in individual and institutional portfolios. He has lectured widely throughout the U.S. and abroad and has received the highest honors from his peers in the investment profession. In this exciting new book, Peter L. Bernstein, who chronicled the evolution of risk in his recent bestseller, Against the Gods, tells the story of history's most coveted, celebrated, and inglorious asset: gold. From the ancient fascinations of Moses and Midas through the modern convulsions caused by the gold standard and its aftermath, gold has led many of its most eager and proud possessors to a bad end. Gold had them, rather than the other way around. And while the same cycle of obsession and desperation may reverberate in today's fast-moving, electronically-driven stock markets, the role of gold in shaping human history is the striking feature of this tumultuous tale. Such is the power of gold. This fascinating account begins with the magical, religious, and artistic qualities of gold and progresses to the invention of coinage, the transformation of gold into money, and the gold standard. The more important gold becomes as money, the more loudly it speaks of power--even more loudly than when it served as an entry to Heaven or a symbol of omnipotence. Ultimately, the book confronts the future of gold in a world where it appears to have been relegated to the periphery of global finance. From the Bible to the Gold Rush era to modern day Fort Knox and beyond, unforgettable characters stride through these pages. Contemplate gold from the diverse perspectives of monarchs and moneyers, potentates and politicians, men of legendary wealth and others of more plebeian beginnings; from Asia Minor's King Croesus to Rome's noted speculator Crassus, to Byzantine emperors and humble miners, Venice's Marco Polo and Spain's Francisco Pizarro, to Charlemagne and Charles de Gaulle, Richard I and Richard Nixon, Isaac Newton and Winston Churchill, Britain's economists David Ricardo and John Maynard Keynes, and Christopher Columbus and the Forty-Niners. Perhaps most remarkable are the frantic speculators who pushed gold to $850.00 an ounce in 1980 just as their counterparts twenty years later drove Internet stocks to exorbitant heights. Whether it is Egyptian pharaohs with depraved tastes, the luxury-mad survivors of the Black Death, the Chinese inventor of paper money, the pirates on the Spanish Main, or the hardnosed believers in the international gold standard like the United States'President Herbert Hoover, gold has been the supreme possession. 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. As Bernstein muses,'The joke is that nothing is as useless and useful all at the same time.'Far more than a tale of romantic myths, daring explorations, and the history of money and power struggles, The Power of Gold suggests that the true significance of this infamous element may lie in the timeless passions it continues to evoke, and what this reveals about ourselves. 'The need for realism in reform of its monetary system is what makes Bernstein's story of the Power of Gold so timely. It is a compelling reminder that maintaining a fixed price for gold and fixed exchange rates were difficult even in a simpler financial environment....Peter Bernstein was reluctant to project the story of gold into the future. But to me his message was clear. Yes, gold will be with us, valued not only for its intrinsic qualities but as a last refuge and store of value in turbulent times. But its days as money, as a means of payment and a fixed unit of account are gone.'—From the New Foreword by Paul Volcker This bestselling book reveals a record of human nature in the ubiquity of gold with a new foreword by Paul Volcker In this exciting book, the late Peter L. Bernstein tells the story of history's most coveted, celebrated, and inglorious asset: gold. From the ancient fascinations of Moses and Midas through the modern convulsions caused by the gold standard and its aftermath, gold has led many of its most eager and proud possessors to a bad end. And while the same cycle of obsession and desperation may reverberate in today's fast-moving, electronically-driven markets, the role of gold in shaping human history is the striking feature of this tumultuous tale. Such is the power of gold. Whether it is Egyptian pharaohs with depraved tastes, the luxury-mad survivors of the Black Death, the Chinese inventor of paper money, the pirates on the Spanish Main, or the hardnosed believers in the international gold standard, gold has been the supreme possession. 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. Discusses the beginnings of gold as something with magical, religious, and artistic qualities and follows its trail as we progress to the invention of coinage, the transformation of gold into money, and the gold standard Other bestselling books by the late Peter Bernstein: Against the Gods, Capital Ideas, and Capital Ideas Evolving Contemplates gold from the diverse perspectives of monarchs and moneyers, potentates and politicians, men of legendary wealth and others of more plebeian beginnings Far more than a tale of romantic myths, daring explorations, and the history of money and power struggles, The Power of Gold suggests that the true significance of this infamous element may lie in the timeless passions it continues to evoke, and what this reveals about ourselves. 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, King Midas, Alexander The Great, Emperor Justinian, The Inca Emperor Atahualpa, Martin Luther, Kublai Khan, Sir Isaac Newton, And Charles De Gaulle, The Author Recounts The Sequence Of Events That Led To Gold Becoming The International Monetary Standard In The 19th Century Only To Fall To Obscurity Amid 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 The Difference Between Useless Metal And Real Wealth. 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 Stupendous Conspiracy And The Endless Chain -- The Norman Conquest -- The End Of The Epoch -- The Transcending Value -- World War Eight And The Thirty Ounces Of Gold -- Epilogue: The Supreme Possession? Peter L. Bernstein. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 397-407) And Index.

This absorbing epic begins with the magical, religious and artistic significance of gold, progressing to the invention of coinage, the transformation of gold into money and eventually to the gold standard. The more important gold became as an economic tool, the more loudly it spoke of power - even more loudly than when it served as an entry to Heaven or a symbol of omnipotence. Finally, the book confronts the future of gold in a world where it appears to have been relegated to the periphery of financial sector.

From the Bible, through the Gold Rush era to modern day Fort Knox and beyond, unforgettable characters stride through these pages. Contemplate gold from the diverse perspectives of monarchs and money makers, potentates and politicians, men of legendary wealth and others of more plebeian beginnings: from Asia Minor's King Croesus, Rome's noted speculator Crassus, and Byzantine emperors, through Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus Francisco Pizarro, Richard I, Charlemagne and Isaac Newton to the Forty-Niners, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, John Maynard Keynes and Richard Nixon.

Whether it is Egyptian pharaohs, the luxury-mad survivors of the Black Death, the Chinese inventor of paper money, the pirates on the Spanish Main, or the hardnosed believers in the international gold standard, gold has been the supreme possession. 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. As Bernstein muses, 'The joke is that nothing is as useless and useful all at the same time.’

Scotland on Sunday

The research is excellent.

Praise for Peter Bernstein and the power of Gold "The story of gold–in all its splendor and mythology, its fascinationfor individuals and nations alike. . . . Peter Bernstein is up to the challenge. His spritely exposition is a fine read even as it makes us think and reflect." --Paul A. Volcker, Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve "Admirably written...a wonderfully interesting view;—not alone of gold but of the greater economic history. Like other of his work, it is assured of a wide readership." --John Kenneth Galbraith Professor of Economics Emeritus, Harvard University "This book is a noble treatment of the most noble of elements.The Power of Gold is a brilliant and unexpected taleof three thousand years of a metal as virtual reality." --Steve Jones author, Darwins Ghost: The Origin of Species Updated "Hats off! We are in the presence of a master...to read with such delight in its manner as to pass too quickly over the subtlety of its understanding and the astonishing width and depth of Bernsteins knowledge." --Roger G. Kennedy Director Emeritus, National Museum of American History "...a fascinating story...wittily written, and full of original insights...Peter Bernstein has once more written a brilliant book, both highly instructive and entertaining." --Pierre Keller former senior partner, Lombard Odier & Cie, Geneva ""The need for realism in reform of its monetary system is what makes Bernstein's story of the Power of Gold so timely. It is a compelling reminder that maintaining a fixed price for gold and fixed exchange rates were difficult even in a simpler financial environment ... Peter Bernstein was reluctant to project the story of gold into the future. But to me his message was clear. Yes, gold will be with us, valued not only for its intrinsic qualities but as a last refuge and store of value in turbulent times. But its days as money, as a means of payment and a fixed unit of account are gone.""-

Incorporating myth, history and contemporary investigation, Bernstein tells the story of how human beings have become intoxicated, obsessed, enriched, impoverished, humbled and proud for the sake of gold. From the past to the future, Bernstein's portrayal of gold is intimately linked to the character of humankind.

Incorporating myth, history and contemporary investigation, Bernstein tells the story of how human beings have become intoxicated, obsessed, enriched, impoverished, humbled and proud for the sake of gold. From the past to the future, Bernsteina s portrayal of gold is intimately linked to the character of humankind. "The need for realism in reform of its monetary system is what makes Bernstein s story of the Power of Gold so timely. It is a compelling reminder that maintaining a fixed price for gold and fixed exchange rates were difficult even in a simpler financial environment . If gold were more plentiful on earth-say, as abundant as salt-it would be far less valuable and interesting, despite its unique physical attributes and beauty.