Gold. A most evocative word. Gold standard, golden boy. Gold blend even. From the Californian gold rush to the tale of Croesus and Jason, from King Solomon's mines to the fabulous wealth of the Incas, gold has exerted a pull on the imagination.

Other metals, such as platinum, are more valuable, and diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but nothing quickens the blood like gold.

In Bernstein's book the rivers of mythology, fact, politics and ideology are expertly panned to produce this entertaining and informative read.

We rattle through Moses and the Golden Calf, Jason and the Golden Fleece and into Darius King of Kings, who introduced the first proper coinage to the world and, inevitably, the first taxation system based on representative value rather than goods.

Egyptian expansion was founded on the need to procure slaves to work the terrible mines that produced the gold vital to imperial and religious ceremony. Byzantium fell when it ran out of gold and the Portuguese, Spanish and British empires flourished on the back of gold.

Only in the 20th century have we entered a post-gold society. And that traumatic event is one of the most fascinating sections of the book. It deals with the European and US obsession with returning to the gold standard following the First World War.

This policy plunged the world into a recession which, in terms of suffering and its consequences (fascism, communism, social unrest and blighted lives), has never been equalled.

The quest turned a serious recession into a catastrophe and forced some countries to almost devour themselves and others. Reparations levied on Germany contributed to the rise of Hitler, and the consequences of poverty and repression of industrial unrest sent a generation of intellectuals and workers scurrying into the comforting embrace of communism.

Never before had the power of gold exacted such a price of those who had fallen fatally under its spell.

Bernstein tackles the tangled tale of man's obsession with this metal with aplomb. Complex issues of monetary policy and the social and political fallout are dealt with in a direct and unfussy manner.

He writes with style and verve and all human life is in there. Thoroughly enjoyable.

comidheach@irish-times.ie