We use money every day. However, the practice of exchanging paper or digits for goods and services seems absurd if you think about it. Naked Money explores why money exists and why it often leads entire nations into trouble. Charles Wheelan explains with his characteristic humor and refreshing clarity how banks and monetary systems should function in ideal situations, and reveals the destruction and hardship actually caused by inflation, deflationary pressure, lack of liquidity, and other monetary effects. With illuminating stories from Argentina, Zimbabwe, North Korea, America, China, and other countries around the world, Naked Money demystifies the strange world behind the paper in our pockets and the numbers in our bank accounts.