If Not Silver, What?

Bookwalter, John W. (John Wesley), 1837-1915Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

1.5

Word count: 165K words
Chapters: 17

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.If Not Silver, What? by John W. BookwalterAuthor: Bookwalter, John W. (John Wesley), 1837-1915,Language: English, Class: HG: Social sciences: Finance, Release Date: Jul 17, 2005

Editor's review

If Not Silver, What? is a Project Gutenberg public-domain ebook by John W. Bookwalter, classified under finance in the social sciences (HG). Judging from the title and classification, the book was written around the late nineteenth-century American debate over silver currency and is a text of financial and policy discussion in a specific historical context. Its value lies mainly at the level of historical sources and intellectual history: through the arguments of a contemporary commentator, readers can observe the reasoning, interests, and rhetorical style in the dispute between the gold standard and the silver standard, and understand how monetary policy debates were entangled with agriculture, debt, and regional interests. As a public-domain book, it is convenient for researchers to search the original text and verify wording. It is suitable for readers interested in economic history and monetary history for thematic study, or for use as selected primary material in classroom discussion. Note that the book's arguments depend heavily on specific historical background; readers without relevant knowledge may find it difficult, and its policy proposals should not be directly applied to contemporary financial issues.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Economic history readers interested in the late nineteenth-century American currency debate
University students who need primary sources for thematic research or thesis writing
Teachers of financial history or the history of economic thought looking for original materials
Self-learners who enjoy reading public-domain English documents and are willing to fill in historical background

Not a good fit for

General readers who want to understand contemporary monetary policy and investment practice
Beginners who lack historical background and hope to read about financial topics easily
Readers with limited English reading ability who need Chinese translation and notes

Reading tips

Before reading, first fill in the basic background of the gold-versus-silver standard debate and clarify the main positions and interest groups.
While reading, sort out the author's chain of argument and distinguish factual statements, value judgments, and policy proposals.
Read it alongside other contemporary writings on currency issues and compare the argumentative angles of different commentators.
Evaluate the book's proposals in their historical context and avoid directly applying them to contemporary financial issues.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What is the core question discussed in this book?

Judging from the title and its finance classification, the book revolves around the late nineteenth-century American debate over the monetary status of silver and discusses what monetary arrangement should be chosen apart from silver proposals. The book has a clear flavor of period controversy and involves the relationship between monetary policy and interests such as agriculture and debt. The specific arguments should be based on the original text; readers should understand them in light of the historical background of the time and should not make simplified judgments out of context.

Can someone without an economics background understand this book?

It will be somewhat difficult. This is a polemical text in a specific historical context that assumes readers know the monetary system and political-economic background of the time, and it is in English. If you lack relevant background, it is advisable to read one or two overview articles on the American gold-versus-silver standard debate before entering the original text; otherwise it is easy to see only scattered claims without grasping the line of argument.

Is the public-domain ebook edition suitable for research citation?

It can be used as a basis for searching the original text and textual analysis, and the Project Gutenberg edition is convenient for locating specific wording. However, public-domain ebooks usually lack contemporary editorial notes and page information. For formal academic citation, you should check an authoritative print edition or a clearly labeled edition and note the source of the electronic text used, so as to avoid discrepancies in quotations caused by layout differences.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Bookwalter, John W. (John Wesley), 1837-1915 Author · American · 1837–1915

John W. Bookwalter (1837–1915) was an American writer active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Public information about his life is limited; he is known mainly for his interest in the development of the American West and in travel overseas, which he recorded in his writings. His representative work, If Not Silver, What?, addresses the contemporary American debate over currency standards and silver policy. Its interrogative title places the book squarely within partisan and public controversy, and its style is direct, factual, and argumentative rather than elaborate. He also wrote accounts of travel in the West and abroad, giving his work both a political and a travel-writing dimension. Bookwalter is not known chiefly for literary style; rather, his firsthand perspective on the issues and journeys of his time offers a plain but concrete sample of late nineteenth-century American social and economic debate and observation beyond the United States.