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by contingencies 1520 days ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt:_The_First_5000_Years perhaps? Happy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzac_Day ... miss the biscuits!
2 comments

No, I haven't read Graeber's book. This was The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery, and Destructive Economics by Michael Rowbotham. From memory, the title is derived from the literal meaning of the term 'mortgage'.

It wasn't a book that I sought out. I just happened to be traveling at the time and was asked to return it to it's owner, so read it on the plane. I can't remember enough of the specific substance of the book to make a definitive recommendation but I can say that I remember it being very engrossing and will always appreciate that it broadened my interest in economics at the time (coincidentally I had just finished my studies in economics that year).

It couldn't have been Graeber's screed because OP read it before 2008 and it gave him a mental model of how the financial system unravelled.
Both excellent points.