Debt - Updated and Expanded cover art

Debt - Updated and Expanded

The First 5,000 Years

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free

$8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Get this deal
Offer ends on July 15, 2026 at 11:59 PT.
More purchase options

Debt - Updated and Expanded

Written by: David Graeber
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
Get this deal

$8.99/mo. after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offer ends July 15, 2026 at 11:59pm PT.

Buy Now for $26.87

Buy Now for $26.87

Now in audio, the updated and expanded edition: David Graeber's "fresh...fascinating...thought-provoking...and exceedingly timely" (Financial Times) history of debt.

Here, anthropologist David Graeber presents a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom: He shows that before there was money, there was debt. For more than 5,000 years, since the beginnings of the first agrarian empires, humans have used elaborate credit systems to buy and sell goods - that is, long before the invention of coins or cash. It is in this era, Graeber argues, that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors.

Graeber shows that arguments about debt and debt forgiveness have been at the center of political debates from Italy to China, as well as sparking innumerable insurrections. He also brilliantly demonstrates that the language of the ancient works of law and religion (words like "guilt", "sin", and "redemption") derive in large part from ancient debates about debt, and shape even our most basic ideas of right and wrong. We are still fighting these battles today without knowing it.

©2014 David Graeber (P)2015 Gildan Media LLC Anthropology Economics World Middle Ages Money Capitalism Latin America Africa Imperialism Socialism Taxation Iran Middle East Law Social justice China Human Rights Self-Determination
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

What the critics say

"Controversial and thought-provoking, an excellent book." (Booklist)
All stars
Most Relevant
Graeber is informed, considered, careful, wise, contrarian, insightful and forceful. This book provides an urgent foundation to rethink our world, the economy and life.

A rare gem

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very important and interesting information that I think everyone should know. However, as Graeber says in the book this started out as an academic book; hence it is a dense book that takes a lot of time and concentration to listen to. Graeber’s later work is an easier listen for the layman, but this book covers topics that are equally important to
understand.

Interesting but heavy

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The author covers a lot of ground, and sometimes the subject is a little dense for an audio book. All the same, this was a fascinating journey through the history of debt and human societies.

Superbly read, very interesting subject

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It's long and comprehensive and thought-provoking. It has a worldview perspective. It's a bit anarchist.

It's exactly what you think it is

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Exceptional analysis. So glad I took the time to consume this, I'll have to listen to it 100 more times I think but I'll get the physical book and make notes... important information... it's time for that discussion, I think.

Wow...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews