BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR
Reading is among the greatest gifts given to Mankind. Here is a selection of books that not only make for excellent presents but also offer valuable insights and a few laughs.
Money: A Story of Humanity by David McWilliams
This is an accessible and entertaining account following the history of money from the clay tablets of ancient Mesopotamia to today’s cryptocurrencies. It explains the invention of coinage in ancient Greece, the development of banking and credit in the Middle Ages, the adoption of banknotes, and the rise of the US dollar and profiles key figures including John Law, 17th-century gambler, murderer and ‘father of monetary economics’.
The Money Doctor by John Lowe
For years, John Lowe‘s handbook has helped thousands of people get to grips with the basics of budgeting and learn how to save cash in all areas of life. This fully revised edition includes Budget 2025, a special appendix 50 Top Tax Tips, a section for first-time mortgage ready home buyers and a separate stand alone special mini eBook (148 pages with its own index) for teenagers especially Transition Year students 2025/2026 entitled Teenagers – You & Your Money. There are additional resources on the free website www.moneydoctor.ie it is a wealth of information tailored to diverse financial needs.
Earn It! Learn SimpleMoney Lessons, by Cinders McLeod
If you agree that we should not wait until school to have our children taught financial common sense, then have a look at Earn It! Learn Simple Money Lessons, by Cinders McLeod. A lovely picture book for young children to learn simple facts about earning money. We are welcomed to ‘Bunnyland’ where carrots are money! One of the characters Bun, who loves to sing comes to the realisation that she will need to start earning some carrots to make her singing dreams come true! Also, in the series are, Give It! Save It! And Spend It! – never too early to start.
We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland, by Fintan O’Toole
This narrates modern Ireland into our own time. It starts in 1958, with each chapter the author weaves his own experiences into this account of Irish social, cultural, and economic change. “He shows how Ireland, in just one lifetime, has gone from a Catholic “backwater” to an almost totally open society. A sympathetic-yet-exacting observer, O’Toole shrewdly weighs more than sixty years of globalisation, delving into the violence of the Troubles and depicting, in biting detail, the astonishing collapse of the once-supreme Irish Catholic Church.” The book is both a memoir and national history and you will often as you read, say, I Remember That’ or ‘I Was There’.
Christmas Omnibus by John B Keane
And finally, (I suggested this book last year but worth a yearly mention) A Christmas Omnibus” by the late great John B Keane. Be enthralled by Canon Coddle who “routs scoundrels” who are trying to take the Scouts’ collection box on Christmas Eve from the wall of the church and Masterman, a seasoned traveller who finds salvation at Christmas time. In the words of John B himself, “The Spirit of Christmas has survived Stalins,’ Hitlers’ and the Mussolinis’ and those who have perpetrated injustices since the birth of Christ. It has survived human greed and human jealousy and every human failing one cares to mention.”
And on than note, thank you all who have read the paper and I wish you all a very happy Christmas and New Year.
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