"This book has a lot to offer specialists and general readers alike. The history of the dollar will appeal to economic historians and historians of Argentina, as well as engage other scholars of Latin America interested in political economy and material culture. For this English version of the text, the authors have included expanded background information and context for readers unfamiliar with Argentina. Likewise, Wendy Gosselin’s excellent translation makes this a highly adoptable book for survey courses and seminars."
Description
Originally published in Argentina in 2019 and now finally available in English, Luzzi and Wilkis’s acclaimed book traces the history of the economic, social, and political relevance of the dollar in Argentina and its popularization over the years.
How did the dollar come to play such a leading role in Argentina’s national existence? How and why did this global currency become a local currency on the other end of the Western hemisphere? Through the reconstruction of the social and cultural history of the US dollar in Argentina, Luzzi and Wilkis provide original insight into this sidebar of the dollar’s history, showing how it became a “local” currency even outside its country of origin.
Reviews
“In The Dollar, two brilliant analysts team up to offer us a transformative analysis of how money works. Investigating the puzzling local grip of the US dollar in Argentina with fascinating interviews and documentary sources, Luzzi and Wilkis identify compelling historical and social answers. The book marks a new agenda for experts in the analysis of money.”
Argentina is the country with the highest amount of dollar bills per capita outside the United States. Luzzi and Wilkis take the reader into a thrilling examination of how Argentines have experienced the US dollar over almost a century. In the journey, they show how economy, culture, and politics are always intertwined.
“In The Dollar, two brilliant analysts team up to offer us a transformative analysis of how money works. Investigating the puzzling local grip of the US dollar in Argentina with fascinating interviews and documentary sources, Luzzi and Wilkis identify compelling historical and social answers. The book marks a new agenda for experts in the analysis of money.”