William Goetzmann is the Edwin J. Beinecke Professor of Finance and Management Studies, and Director of the International Center for Finance at Yale. He has written extensively on historical capital markets and investing. And as former director of Denver's Museum of Western Art, he co-authored the award-winning book The West of the Imagination. K. Geert Rouwenhorst is Professor of Finance at the Yale School of Management and Deputy Director of the International Center for Finance at Yale. He is an expert on international finance and stock markets around the globe. The work of both authors, including their separate and joint research, has been published in all of the major academic journals in Finance, and has been widely featured in the financial press, including Barron's, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Week and The Economist. The International Center for Finance at Yale is an interdisciplinary research institute focused on financial economics and the role of capital markets in society.

One of The Economist's Best Books of 2005
One of Barron's Best Books of 2005

"A lively history of finance.... The book is gorgeous. You can see the crimson illumination on the Ligatio pecuniae and read the fine print on a futures contract from the Dutch West India Co. Each chapter is a minihistory written by stars like Niall Ferguson and Robert Shiller, who explain in rich prose the connections between Chinese pawnshops, Greek moneylenders and, ultimately, the cash in your pocket."--Jyoti Thottam, Time Magazine

"Possibly the first book designed expressly for Wall Street coffee tables."--The Economist

"A nice addition to any investor's coffee table. Large and lavishly illustrated, it's a collection of essays by leading scholars on everything from the invention of interest in ancient Samaria to bonds in early America."--Barron's

"A fascinating and insightful guide to the evolution of our modern financial system, set in its broad historical context so that the reader always sees the big picture." --Matthew Bishop, Business Editor, The Economist, and author of Essential Economics

"The Origins of Value makes an important contribution to our understanding of global financial history. It suggests connections across Eurasia (e.g. possible Chinese origin of tallies used in early Medieval Europe, or the roots in ancient Indian mathematics of formulas used by Italian merchants), and plausible answers to important historical questions, like the thirteenth-century divergence, in fiscal terms, of China and Western Europe. The reproduced documents allow readers to see how scrutinizing records of the distant past requires almost as much ingenuity as the fiscal innovations that are the focus of discussion." --James D. Tracy, author of Emperor Charles V, Impresario of War: Campaign Strategy, International Finance, and Domestic Politics

William Goetzmann is the Edwin J. Beinecke Professor of Finance and Management Studies, and Director of the International Center for Finance at Yale. He has written extensively on historical capital markets and investing. And as former director of Denver's Museum of Western Art, he co-authored the award-winning book The West of the Imagination. K. Geert Rouwenhorst is Professor of Finance at the Yale School of Management and Deputy Director of the International Center for Finance at Yale. He is an expert on international finance and stock markets around the globe. The work of both authors, including their separate and joint research, has been published in all of the major academic journals in Finance, and has been widely featured in the financial press, including Barron's, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Week and The Economist. The International Center for Finance at Yale is an interdisciplinary research institute focused on financial economics and the role of capital markets in society.

One of The Economist's Best Books of 2005
One of Barron's Best Books of 2005

"A lively history of finance.... The book is gorgeous. You can see the crimson illumination on the Ligatio pecuniae and read the fine print on a futures contract from the Dutch West India Co. Each chapter is a minihistory written by stars like Niall Ferguson and Robert Shiller, who explain in rich prose the connections between Chinese pawnshops, Greek moneylenders and, ultimately, the cash in your pocket."--Jyoti Thottam, Time Magazine

"Possibly the first book designed expressly for Wall Street coffee tables."--The Economist

"A nice addition to any investor's coffee table. Large and lavishly illustrated, it's a collection of essays by leading scholars on everything from the invention of interest in ancient Samaria to bonds in early America."--Barron's

"A fascinating and insightful guide to the evolution of our modern financial system, set in its broad historical context so that the reader always sees the big picture." --Matthew Bishop, Business Editor, The Economist, and author of Essential Economics

"The Origins of Value makes an important contribution to our understanding of global financial history. It suggests connections across Eurasia (e.g. possible Chinese origin of tallies used in early Medieval Europe, or the roots in ancient Indian mathematics of formulas used by Italian merchants), and plausible answers to important historical questions, like the thirteenth-century divergence, in fiscal terms, of China and Western Europe. The reproduced documents allow readers to see how scrutinizing records of the distant past requires almost as much ingenuity as the fiscal innovations that are the focus of discussion." --James D. Tracy, author of Emperor Charles V, Impresario of War: Campaign Strategy, International Finance, and Domestic Politics