markfoskey's review
3.0
I didn't feel like the author found enough material to justify the whole book. It was a little fuzzy on how bookkeeping actually works, which is understandable since the topic is dry, but it would have been nice to get just enough information to help you understand why it was revolutionary.
Late in the book bookkeeping is criticized for leading people to focus too much on commerce. Though the book is called Double Entry, it sweeps things like GDP into its domain, criticizing it for failing to measure human flourishing. This is a standard line on the left and, though I lean left myself, I think it's kind of dumb. But, whether you agree with the point or not, it bespeaks a certain lack of focus.
Late in the book bookkeeping is criticized for leading people to focus too much on commerce. Though the book is called Double Entry, it sweeps things like GDP into its domain, criticizing it for failing to measure human flourishing. This is a standard line on the left and, though I lean left myself, I think it's kind of dumb. But, whether you agree with the point or not, it bespeaks a certain lack of focus.
julis's review
medium-paced
4.0
So this was FASCINATING but uh, perhaps should not have been my very first book on accounting.
Basically I was let loose in a library with time to kill for the first time since...gosh, early 2019? And so grabbed any book that looked remotely fascinating, and late Renaissance/Early Modern is my jam and so voila, early modern bookkeeping.
Very cool but Gleeson-White does presume a little bit of familiarity with accounting (which I lack completely) and only about half the book is on the early history. The rest is on modern history and how to restructure how we think about finances in order to make environmental destruction unprofitable. Amazing but slightly over my head.
christhedoll's review
3.0
A fascinating exploration of how a simple system used to measure and record wealth spawned a cultural revolution. .. actually pretty interesting.
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