The Greenback Planet is a thrilling tale of how the US dollar became the world's principal currency, with verve and novelistic storytelling.

Acclaimed historian H.W.

Brands charts the dollar's astonishing rise to global dominance, from Civil War debates over fiat money to recent financial crises.

Explore the dollar's changing relations to gold and silver, other currencies, and America's economic might that made it the fundamental standard of value in world finance.

Vividly described episodes include the 1869 Black Friday attempt to corner the gold market, J.P.

Morgan's bailout of the U.S.

treasury, creation of the Federal Reserve, and President Franklin Roosevelt's handling of the bank panic of 1933.

Learn how lessons from the Great Depression influenced U.S.

monetary policy and how the dollar's dominance transformed economies worldwide, from Germany and Japan after WWII to Russia and China today.

The Greenback Planet provides a sobering dissection of the 2008 world financial debacle, exposing the power and risks of the dollar's global reign.

This comprehensive and captivating history will leave you with a newfound appreciation for the dollar's significance in today's global economy.