[This Week's Books] 'Don Balkhineun Segyesa' and More

Money-Driven World History

This book sheds light on fascinating historical events caused by money, spanning various fields such as politics, economics, philosophy, history, and literature. Through these events, it explores human emotions toward money, including greed, and examines the nature of money itself. The author worked at the Bank of Korea for 37 years and 6 months since 1985 and is currently serving as a director at the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation. It contains insights to properly understand finance and economics, including hidden stories about central banks and national policies. (Written by Cha Hyunjin / Munhakdongne)

Going Infinite

This book covers the downfall of FTX, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, which once had a corporate value exceeding 55 trillion won. The author first met FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried at the end of 2021. At that time, Sam was dressed in cargo shorts and loose white socks and said that infinite money was needed to solve issues like nuclear war and pandemics, which piqued the author's curiosity. The author is a famous nonfiction writer who wrote works adapted into films such as "Moneyball" and "The Big Short." (Written by Michael Lewis / Translated by Park Hongkyung / JoongAng Books)

How Does the State Think?

This book examines the core question of international politics: "Do states act rationally?" It looks at whether Germany and Japan, the main culprits of wars such as the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War I and World War II, made rational decisions from their perspectives. The author explains that the world stage of international politics is always marked by insufficient information and high uncertainty, and that Germany and Japan, who started wars, also made rational decisions from their own viewpoints. (Written by John Mearsheimer et al. / Translated by Kwon Jihyun / Seohae Munjip)