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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderfully funny, human. And a vision for our future., 31 Mar 2000
By A Customer
Loved it! A wonderful combination of vision, and often curious factual insights and stories which amusingly, informatively (and endearingly!) lead the reader into and through an exciting new approach to money (the thing that effects our lives in more ways than we perhaps acknowledge) - the way we think about it, create it, use it. It challenges our most basic notions about it, makes us laugh in the meanwhile, and presents us with an extraordinary, viable, alternative future.It's about a new way of thinking about money. It's liberating. It seems as though it could change the world. No longer us and them, but people taking control over "money" funny or otherwise. It's not new age fantasy but very firmly based in our current economical climate - multi-nationals (to whom we are all connected through pension funds etc) through to 'the new alchemists' - small communities creating their own money, their own banks, a sort of barter, but better. It's inspiring, amusing (wonderfully so! - "Bill Bryson with a purpose" (Norfolk reviewer) absolutely! ), - if you have any interest at all in the way money goes round (and it's a/the key cog to the modern world), or you just want a laugh! - buy it, read it, and change the world into the bargain! Perhaps I'm beginning to sound like the blurb on a dust jacket - but I just thought it was brilliant! I'd urge anyone to read it - you'll enjoy it and learn more about real economics than you ever envisaged.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A witty, informative and inspiring read., 29 Mar 2000
As the introduction to this book points out, we can't go on with the current, increasingly surreal systems of global finance, based on imaginary situations and vast profits. David Boyle explains very clearly how an alternative system, based on bartering skills within individiual communities, could provide an answer, particularly for cash-poor areas. I already know some people involved in similar systems and it seems this will be the way of the future for a lot of people. Funny Money explains how these systems work, so you could set up your own if you want. But rather than preaching, it is a witty, interesting read, describing systems already in place in the US and how they work. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone, particularly if you're not very well off!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Ever considered printing your own money?, 19 Dec 2008
Alternative currencies are counter-cyclical, meaning they become more important in times of recession. It's a great time to be involved in the whole area of community finance, so I picked up a copy of Funny Money to find out a little more.
The book charts David Boyle's visits to various alernative currency projects, mainly in the US, meeting the organisers and the beneficiaries. He visits Ithaca Hours, Edgar Cahn's Washington time bank, and the Schumacher Society's Berkshares programme, among others. Each is an intriguing experiment in finance, often run on a shoestring or by volunteers. The community around the project is always as important as the project itself.
Boyle has chosen to write it partly as a travelogue, so there are digressions, descriptions or observations, and detailed conversations. Some of this is amusing and insightful, some of it is tangential and I found myself skipping ahead. The book is also ten years old now, and many of the projects will have grown beyond recognition or folded.
But, it remains a good introduction to pioneering new currency, and will be inspiring to those now considering similar experiments. It's also a fascinating exploration of the nature of money. After all "if its creation is so simple that banks and governments can do it", says Boyle of money, "we may be entering a world where we can all do the same thing for ourselves."
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