Dying of Money: Lessons of the Great German and American Inflations 1st Edition

by Jens O. Parsson (Author)

15 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0914688013

ISBN-10: 0914688014

Why is ISBN important?

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Other Sellers

from

Other Sellers

See all 6 versions

The cover motif is a piece of old German money. It is a Reichsbanknote issued on August 22, 1923 for one hundred million marks. Nine years earlier, that many marks would have been about 5 percent of all the German marks in the world, worth 23 million American dollars. On the day it was issued, it was worth about twenty dollars. Three months later, it was worth only a few thousandths of an American cent. The process by which this occurs is known as inflation.

A few years before, in 1920 and 1921, Germany had enjoyed a remarkable prosperity envied by the rest of the world. Prices were steady, business was humming, everyone was working, the stock market was skyrocketing. The Germans were swimming in easy money. Within the year, they were drowning in it. Until it was all over, no one seemed to notice any connection between the earlier false boom and the later inflationary bust.

In this book, Jens O. Parsson performs the neat trick of transforming the dry economic subject of inflation into a white-knuckles kind of blood-chiller. He begins with a freewheeling account of the spectacular inflation that all but destroyed Germany in 1923, taking it apart to find out both what made it tick and what made it finally end. He goes on to look at the American inflation that was steadily gaining force after 1962. In terms clear and fascinating enough for any layman, but with technical validity enough for any economist, he applies the lessons gleaned from the German inflation to find that too much about the American inflation was the same, lacking only the inexorable further deterioration that time would bring. The book concludes by charting out all the possible future prognoses for the American inflation, none easy but some much less catastrophic than others.

Mr. Parsson brings much new light to bear on this subject. He lays on the line in tough, spare language exactly how and why the American inflation was caused, exactly who was responsible for causing it, exactly who unjustly benefited and who suffered from the inflation, exactly why the government could not permit the inflation to stop or even to cease growing worse, exactly who was going to pay the ultimate price, and exactly what would have to be done to avert the ultimate conclusion.

This book packs a wallop. It is not for the timid, and it spares no tender sensibilities. The conclusions it reaches are shocking and are bound to provoke endless dispute. If they proved to approximate even remotely the correct analysis of the American inflation, hardly any American citizen could escape being the prey of inflation and no one could afford not to know where the inflation was taking him. In the economic daily lives of everyone, nothing will be the same after this book as it was before.

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Jens O. Parsson
11
Paperback
$50.70
In Stock.
Adam Fergusson
427
Paperback
$15.29
In Stock.
Philip Haslam
144
Paperback
in Southern Africa History
$11.50
Only 10 left in stock - order soon.
Michael Lewis
4,467
Paperback
$12.99
In Stock.
James Rickards
1,136
Hardcover
$17.25
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Naomi Wolf
377
Paperback
$17.96
In Stock.

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Adam Fergusson
427
Paperback
$15.29
In Stock.
Jens O. Parsson
11
Paperback
$50.70
In Stock.
James Rickards
673
Hardcover
$19.48
In Stock.
Philip Haslam
144
Paperback
in Southern Africa History
$11.50
Only 10 left in stock - order soon.
Liaquat Ahamed
769
Paperback
$16.96
In Stock.
Steven E. Koonin
Hardcover
in Environmental Science
$15.61
This title will be released on May 4, 2021.

Deals related to this item

See all deals

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

2,480
$115.50
In Stock.
31,851
in Green Tea
$23.50
In Stock.
831
$10.99
In Stock.
1,619
$89.99
In Stock.
19,860
$16.99
In Stock.
9,609
$22.09
In Stock.

Special offers and product promotions

Amazon Business: Make the most of your Amazon Business account with exclusive tools and savings. Login now
Amazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account

Product details

Publisher : Wellspring Pr; 1st Edition (April 1, 1974)
Language : English
ISBN-10 : 0914688014
ISBN-13 : 978-0914688013
Item Weight : 1.3 pounds
Dimensions : 6 x 1.25 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,241,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4,714 in United States History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
15 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		50%
4 star 0% (0%)		0%
3 star		16%
2 star		16%
1 star		18%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

D. Morris

The book to own

Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2008

Verified Purchase

Over the past 4 years I've made the study of finance, economics, geo-politics, money and taxation my journey. In doing so I've read countless white papers, comment and around 140 books on the varying subjects, all in an effort to understand 'what is going on'. In an effort to understand the current tertiary teachings, I've also succesfully obtained the CFP (Certified Financial Planner) qualification. And I've found they teach so much incorrectly, especially inflation, its causes and effects.

If I was ever restricted to owning one book, and that one book was to provide the most amount of understanding of a subject, 'Dying of Money' would be that book. I managed to obtain a copy some 18 months ago, and I consider it the pearl of my book collection.

It is well-written, concise, clear, and everytime I've read the book (6 times to date) I've managed to find a new understanding of the subject. Personally I believe that this book should be reprinted and should be made a set-work for secondary school scholars.

Own it. It really is that good.

57 people found this helpful

Helpful

Adem T

Great book on inflation

Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2014

Verified Purchase

Great book on inflation, the first half. But the second half calls for more government, which we don't need.

Could have been 5 stars but sadly the author is a statist. And there will always be inflation with statism.

19 people found this helpful

Helpful

Charles

A disappointment.

Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2016

Verified Purchase

Just because you pay $50 for a paperback book, surely does not mean you will get your money's worth. In this case that maxim holds. The book does not enlighten one beyond very basic insights on inflation nor does it give any meaningful advice on how to operate is such an environment. Save your money and buy the less expensive books on understanding inflations.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Bill V.

Big government is not the answer

Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2013

Verified Purchase

The first half of the book concerning inflation history is great.

The second half of the book concerning solutions is collectivist drivel.

20 people found this helpful

Helpful

theology_guy

I Don't Usually Write Reviews, but This One Was Worth it...

Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2021

I rarely write reviews of anything on Amazon. However, this book is special. Of the 20-or-so books I've purchased over the last year to try to help me figure out what was going on in the macro-economy, this book is definitely the one that I would keep if I could keep only one, and second place, I would add, is distant.

While I did not agree with every conclusion or argument that the author made, the superb writing and thoughtful presentation of new ideas was extremely helpful towards helping me learn about and "expand my thinking" on various aspects of our current financial system, and secondly, the optimal way our financial economy *should* be constructed in an ideal sense. Granted, the author is writing in 1974, so some deference needs to be given to the author in light of new financial innovations, policies, and a different geo-political and financial environment today as compared to when the book was written, but the basic arguments made in the second half of the book in my opinion remain relevant, or at the very least still worthy of consideration for society today. That these insights were collected and written down by an attorney under a pseudonym is telling, and the associated writing style is refreshing for a book on this topic.

I have consumed more than 300 hours of YouTube videos and podcast content, and read several books, over the last year on macroeconomics, banking, and financial policy topics including MMT, QE, gold, investing, and the bond market: nothing I've learned has suggested this book is old and outdated, and that I should not read this book a second time, and this time take more detailed notes. I relish the thought!

The reader is advised the author's essential arguments in the second half are based on the quantity theory of money (QTM) which Modern Monetary Theorists might dismiss as "antiquated," but which an educated, independent, seeking reader (having studied and finding value in MMT also as a descriptor of our current system) may not be so ready to dismiss, admitting the possibility that both theories may contain truths that are useful. If QTM is no longer useful because the "structure of the international monetary system has become more complex and rendered QTM no longer relevant," that point has certainly not been proven out to my satisfaction by my open-minded readings and research over the last year. Just because QTM-related quantities are difficult or nearly impossible to measure (e.g. money velocity and money supply) does not mean we should discard the theory or its logical implications altogether as useless. QTM is still firmly grounded in the equation of exchange. Thank you, Marcks, for making me skeptical of the modern lines we are fed about "the way things work."

Other reviewers have discounted the second half of the book as "collectivist drivel," a characterization which I would argue (as a non-collectivist) is wholly misplaced and inaccurate, and does not nearly do the second half the justice it deserves. While there are a couple places in the second half where I feel the author oversteps a bit, his arguments are still logical and considerate, which alone makes this book worth having on your bookshelf. While stimulus checks aren't quite UBI and are a far cry from Marcks' "national dividend," the ideas are all in the same conceptual ballpark, which made that part of the reading very interesting and very real.

I can say this safely, even though I don't agree with everything the author writes: The author's writing throughout is masterful, and there is a certain "playfulness" with which the author dances around various topics (e.g. interest rates, money, markets, and politics) that would otherwise be very dull, which makes the book a pleasure to read and hard to put down.

I believe there's a reason this book was not reprinted before now (note: I believe a recent new paperback version just came out, which was not available until recently...), and there's a reason this book can sometimes cost several hundred dollars to purchase. The information contained in this book is extremely valuable, even if QTM doesn't exactly describe every aspect of our modern monetary system in its entirety today. In a capitalist system, you get what you pay for. I highly recommend this book to any critical reader trying to learn about money, interest rates, and what's going on in the macroeconomy. Yes, the book was written 45 years ago, so there are a few weaknesses. But the benefits vastly outweigh the weaknesses. Even if you end up not liking the book's content, you'll probably enjoy the writing style. Oh yeah, and if the author's thesis is correct, this book will easily save you 10 times what you pay for it. : )

Helpful

mongoose123

Decent review of history, faulty propositions of theory

Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2013

The first part of the book consists of a brief history of the inflation in prices in Germany in the early 1920s. The second and fourth parts consist of the incipient inflation in prices in America in the 1960s and 70s. The author describes and treats these problems adequately.

Unfortunately, the main part of the book consists of incoherent economic theory and bold (but invalid) assertions, although the author does have some flashes of insight. Consider the following excerpts, along with my comments after the dashes:

"an economy as complex and interdependent and as completed as mature America must be managed by the government" (p.201 in chapter entitled Taxes)
-- Why?

"A properly managed fiat currency, frankly having no inherent value even imaginary, is infinitely superior as money to gold or any other commodity having a conflicting real value." (p.142 in chapter entitled Money)
-- Yikes!

"Individual rights can exist only so long as they lie unused. ... Without exception, the exercise of one man's rights is bound to be an infringement of the next man's rights. ... A criminal's right to be free from unjust procedure infringes the rights of other citizens to be free from crime.'' (p.289-290 in chapter entitled Democratics)
-- A straw man argument to disparage the rights of individuals. To most people, "individual rights" does not mean that people can do anything they want (like murder or steal), but only that they have the right to control their own lives and property to the extent that they do not aggress against others. As long as one does not aggress against others, surely one can exercise his rights over his property without infringing on the same rights of others.

Learn the history in this book, but discard the theory.

38 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Mr D

Great book, well written & easily understandable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 25, 2014

Verified Purchase

A fantastic and easy to read book, explaining in depth the causes and measures that lead up to both Great German & American inflations.

Will it be different this time around?

3 people found this helpful

See all reviews

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1