How Much?!

Andrew Holmes

Publisher: Thorogood

Price: £9.99

ISBN: 9781854186041

Kieran O’Mahony finds that miscellaneous money facts can be quite addictive

Gleaned from the ‘Bottom Line’ feature in Moneyweek magazine, How Much?! is a miscellany of the bizarre financial figures that exist in our modern, numbersaturated society. From the banal to the truly shocking, it intersperses over a thousand money facts with humorous and sardonic introductions. The list enlightens us on a number of categories relating to crime, celebrities and government spending.

Every page is filled with startling information vying for the reader’s attention. If it isn’t shocking enough to read that 5p is the average wage for a sweatshop worker making clothes for high street chains, discovering that Mike Tyson squandered £187m during his career merely highlights this absurdity. More bizarrely, we find out that during 2002- 2004 the Ministry of Defence (MoD) spent £840m on hotels, restaurants and transport, compared to only £670m on weapons and ammunition! The book further exemplifies the ridiculous by stating that in America someone bid £8,150 for a 10-year-old piece of toast that resembled the Virgin Mary – quite baffling!

These eclectic facts make for an addictive and everengaging book, although one slightly light on detail. While the book would have benefited from the addition of dates to enable the comparison of facts, this doesn’t detract from its entertainment value. Not only does it provide an insight into world finances, it also encourages you to consider your role in the world. Indeed, as Moneyweek editor Merryn Somerset Webb suggests in the foreword, often the most frivolous numbers reveal the most about the society in which we live.

Accounting Technician - July 2008 - Page 13