One Nation Under Gold

“The book is wildly entertaining as well as informative. …Ledbetter is a first-rate reporter with a nose for unearthing great stories. He delivers great and often outré stories in abundance…Ledbetter has written a delightful book, one that succeeds in capturing, among other things, much of the loopiness that has undeservedly tarnished the reputation of the true gold standard.” – Ralph Benko - Forbes”[A] chronicle of the American people’s fascination with gold… . [Ledbetter’s] well-spun narrative spans the better part of four centuries.” – James Grant - Wall Street Journal“A surprisingly readable history of U.S. fiscal policy. Starting with America’s earliest currencies … the book traces the chaotic end of the gold standard and dissects our modern obsession with trying to bring it back … . [Ledbetter’s] measured, persuasive conclusion after surveying two centuries of haphazard fiscal decision making is that a return to a gold standard would be a deeply bad idea. Consider this a must read for the gold bugs in your life” – Anne VanderMey - Fortune“Everyone is familiar with gold but few know of its complex history—until now, thanks to James Ledbetter’s skillful storytelling.” – Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Prize–winning economist and best-selling author of The Great Divide“What an original, imaginative book! Bristling with ideas, this lucid history reveals the economic, cultural, and political dimensions of gold’s role in the American experience. So doing, it illuminates, informs, and provokes.” – Ira Katznelson, author of the Bancroft Prize–winning Fear Itself“I learned an interesting new fact on nearly every page of One Nation Under Gold, but I also learned more than facts: James Ledbetter shows us how men have been transfixed by this metal and the folly that has resulted from that obsession. A gripping story, and a history that has had far more influence over policy in the United States than you might think.” – Michael Tomasky, editor of Democracy: A Journal of Ideas“The material on the gold crisis of the 1960s is really superb—without question the best treatment I have seen of this issue. This was the issue Johnson faced, combined with Vietnam and racial backlash.” – Julian Zelizer, author of The Fierce Urgency of Now”[This] is the first book to really make sense of the tumultuous and entertaining history of Americans’ obsession with gold, brilliantly illuminating how our fascination with the precious metal has shaped our national psyche, sparked political turmoil, and exerted a powerful and often malignant influence on economic policy.” – James Surowiecki

James Ledbetter is the editor of Inc. magazine and the author or editor of five previous books. His writing on business and politics has appeared in The New Yorker, the Nation, the New York Times, and many other publications.