560 pages
English language
Published Jan. 8, 2014 by Melville House.
Debt: The First 5,000 Years is a book by anthropologist David Graeber published in 2011. It explores the historical relationship of debt with social institutions such as barter, marriage, friendship, slavery, law, religion, war and government. It draws on the history and anthropology of a number of civilizations, large and small, from the first known records of debt from Sumer in 3500 BC until the present.
This book takes a very abstract subject and, through great examples and engaging writing, makes it come alive. I learned a lot from it.
