Money has many apparently magical properties. It can be created out of the void - and vanish without so much as a puff of smoke. It can flash through space. It can grow without limit. And it can blow up without warning.David Orrell argues that the emerging discipline of quantum economics, of which he is at the forefront, is the key to shattering the illusions that prevent us from understanding money's true nature.In this colourful tour of the history, philosophy and mathematics of money, Orrell demonstrates how everything makes much more sense when we replace our classical economic models with ones based on quantum probability - and reveals the explosive reality of what is left once the illusions are stripped away.

DAVID ORRELL is a scientist and writer of books on science and economics. His books include Economyths: 11 Ways Economics Gets It Wrong and Quantum Economics: The New Science of Money, plus Behavioural Economics in the Hot Science series. He lives in Toronto.