The Almighty Dollar

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April 2020
Overall verdict: ★ ★ ★ ★ 
To buy this book,
click here.

Why this book?
I first came across ‘The Almighty Dollar’ when I heard Dharshini David speaking at the Hay Festival 2018. Her clarity of explanation was astounding and I knew instantly that I wanted to read the book. As is so often the case I started reading the book for my own general knowledge and interest- I didn’t pick it up with geography teaching or subject knowledge in mind. However, if you’ve read the book you’ll understand what I mean when I say that the scheme of work just jumped out at me- I had to immediately grab a highlighter and a note pad and get planning… I loved teaching an entire scheme of work around the book from 2018-2022 however, in an ever-changing world, elements of it would now need updating or perhaps removing completely- more on that below.

For students:
As the title suggests, this book is all about the dollar and a journey around the world to explain how the global economy really works. It explains so much of the fundamental workings of the global economy in the 21st century yet it does so in an accessible way that is not too dense. When you buy a $2 radio in America, where does that money go? Why is so much of our stuff made in China? Why is China increasingly interested in Africa? Why does the price of oil matter so much? This book will answer so many of the questions that you may have asked in geography!

For teachers:
On the ‘Classroom Resources’ page of this blog, I have shared the overview and resources used to teach this book to our Year 7s from 2018-2022 in order to answer the fertile question of ‘Where does money go when it’s spent?’ However, I would urge you to read the book before using any of those resources- the power of them really does lie in the story and the global interconnections explained through the journey of the book. Secondly, as above, in the ever-changing world of 2024, I think that sections of the resources now need significant updating or perhaps removing completely- we no longer teach this scheme of work, however much I enjoyed it!

As soon as I read this book, I knew that I wanted to use it to teach globalisation and to introduce students to the profound interconnections of our global economy. Too often I think we (as geography teachers) jump into talking about the economy, about development and about globalisation without truly having taken the time to explain these concepts to our students; to ensure the foundation of knowledge is there with which to build on when studying development in more depth. For me, this is what teaching this book allows us to do.

To buy this book, click here.

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