The Making of National Money

When did money become national, and why? These are the questions that Helleiner addresses in a wide-ranging and immaculately detailed monetary history.... Helleiner succeeds admirably in enriching our historical understanding of money's multiple functions in political economy. The study of money, he makes clear, is too important to be left to the economists alone.

-- Benjamin J. Cohen, University of California, Santa Barbara * Journal of Interdisciplinary History *

Historians reading Helleiner's book should recognize that its true value lies less in its historical detail... than in its remarkable synthesis of a global phenomenon.... Historians would do well to use it as a guide to future research. Indeed, this overview should spark renewed interest in the history of money, particularly the relation between political and monetary systems. As a field, it is wide open for inquiry, and should it ever get the attention it deserves, Helleiner will deserve no small share of the credit.

-- Stephen Mihm * Business History Review *

The work is a history of thought as much as a history, and the two themes are cleverly welded together.... In refreshing contrast to the tendency of economic historians to concentrate on the Anglo-Saxon or European experience, much attention is given to other areas of the world: Japan, China, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.

-- Lawrence H. Officer, University of Illinois * EH.NET Reviews *

This book, which is well-written and persuasively argued, will be of interest to students and scholars of international political economy and international relations and to others interested in economic history and the historical roots of globalization.

-- Timothy B. Gravelle, University of Toronto * Political Studies Review *

This is an excellent book that deserves a wide audience of international relations scholars, economists, and policymakers: It is ambitious, intelligent, insightful, learned, thorough, and gracefully written. The Making of National Money will soon be required reading for students of international political economy, as is Eric Helleiner's States and the Reemergence of Global Finance.

-- Rawi Abdelal, Harvard Business School * Perspectives on Politics *

This work is pathbreaking for its theoretical, historical, and policy insights, and—as a result of this originality—raises new issues for theorists, researchers, and policymakers.... The Making of National Money makes an undeniably important contribution to historical, policy, and theoretical debates, and is essential for anyone interested in international relations, comparative economic institutions, or the international political economy.

-- Wesley W. Widmaier, St. Joseph's University * Comparative Political Studi