Atlas of Finance : Mapping the Global Story of Money

A unique illustrated exploration of the development of finance that combines data from every part of the world and covers five thousand years of history

“The book is a lot of fun. Data-fixated readers will enjoy unpicking its main content: a series of elegantly produced maps, graphs and other visualisations. These are eclectic in scope and ambitious in intent.”—Jonathan Guthrie, Financial Times

From the emergence of money in the ancient world to today’s interconnected landscape of high-frequency trading and cryptocurrency, the story of finance has always taken place on an international stage. Finance is one of the most globalized and networked of human activities, and one of the most important social technologies ever invented.

This volume, the first visually based book dedicated to finance, uses graphics and maps to bring the complex and abstract world of finance down to earth, showing how geography is fundamental for understanding finance, and vice versa. It illuminates the people—including Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes—who have shaped our thinking about global finance; brings to life the ways that place-specific histories, laws, regulations, and institutions influence finance; shows how finance relates to innovation, globalization, and environmental change; and details how finance plays a key part in drawing the landscape of uneven development, inequality, and instability.

The Atlas of Finance, with word and image, will change the way you view both your money and your world.

MEDIA REVIEWS

“The book is a lot of fun. Data-fixated readers will enjoy unpicking its main content: a series of elegantly produced maps, graphs and other visualisations. These are eclectic in scope and ambitious in intent.”—Jonathan Guthrie, Financial Times

“In its text and ingenious, often beautifully executed illustrations . . . the Atlas contains a wealth of information.”—Andrew Stuttaford, Wall Street Journal

“What, exactly, is microfinance? What influences the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank? That and more is covered in text and engaging visuals . . . by Dariusz Wójcik, a widely published, award-winning economic geographer.”—Leanne Italie, Associated Press

“Pertinent to all our lives. It is beautifully illustrated. . . . Catch[es] the imagination and inspire[s] people to learn more.”—Money Week

“A wonderful achievement, shining light on many crevices of our economies and their histories.”—Paschal Donohoe, Irish Times