The Complete Book of Greed: The Strange and Amazing History of Human Excess

A whimsical reference documenting humankind's unending fascination with, and lust for, money offers a historical study of human avarice and conspicuous consumption, from the pyramids of the pharaohs to Imelda Marco's infamous shoe collection. 35,000 first printing.

In lighthearted discussions of Pharaohs who took it with them when they went to their tombs, gluttonous Dutch tulip speculators, Imelda Marcos' shoe fetish, bank-robber Willie Sutton, Ivan Boesky, Adnan Khashoggi, and others, Hirsh's brief history of lucre makes it clear that the very rich can be just as stupid as the rest of us. They just have more things to be stupid with. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Goldberg reveals the quirks and characters of famous misers, gamblers, investors, spendthrifts, spenders, gold diggers, and billionaires while he talks about the reality of greed. He also philosophizes that greed is unrelenting because it's really a search for spiritual fulfillment and cannot be satisfied through the accumulation of material possessions. His anecdotal format results in an entertaining book, while his scary stories of the effect of greed almost make the reader glad not to be rich. Denise Perry Donavin