According to James Buchan, money is civilization’s greatest invention. All manner of things can be called money, and almost every culture has given money an ideal existence. Even so, he points out that money, which we hold and see every day is diabolically hard to comprehend in words. It is this very elusiveness that is at the root of money’s power to seduce. Money is ‘frozen desire’ and because money can fulfill any mortal purpose, for many people the pursuit of money becomes the point of life.

Whether or not money is humanity’s greatest invention, its meanings reveal a great deal about human nature. In showing us what we thing of money, Buchan shows us a lot about who we are.

James Buchan was for ten years a foreign correspondent of the Financial Times, reporting from the Middle East, Germany, Central Europe and US. His first novel A Parish of Rich Women won four major literary prizes including the Whitbread First Novel Award. His other highly successful books include High Latitude and A Good Place to Die and Guardian Fiction Award-winning Heart’s Journey in Winter.

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