Gold : Everything you need to know by Ian Plimer

Gold : Everything you need to know

Ian Plimer

Paperback, 300 pages, $39.95

September 2026 release

Gold is the first folly of man, the whore of civilisation and, when governments panic, the saviour of civilisation.

For nearly 10,000 years, gold has lured humans across oceans, deserts, mountains, jungles and tundra. Men have worked, lied, cheated, married, divorced, murdered and invaded for it. Women have worn it in love, governments have stolen it in war, and fools have believed every shiny promise made in its name.

In Gold: Everything You Need to Know, Professor Ian Plimer tells the story of the yellow metal with the eye of a geologist, the experience of a miner and the scepticism of a man who has spent too much time around prospectors, politicians and promoters to trust any of them.

This book ranges from ancient mines, myths, King Solomon, Rome and gold rushes to Australian discoveries, nuggets, modern mining, bullion markets, frauds, thefts, scams, invisible gold, cyanide, mercury, jewellery, coins, central banks and the strange human madness called gold fever.

Gold is rare, beautiful, useful and incorruptible. Humans are not. That is why this story never loses its shine.