Review of The Genesis Book, by Aaron van Wirdum (@AaronvanW)

I bought a signed copy of van Wirdum's first print of The Genesis Book at BTC Prague. 

Let me just say from the outset, that it's my opinion, that this book, which gives you a deep insight into the history of the making of Bitcoin, will without doubt go down as one of the classics. 

The title of the book is a clever word play, as the first block that Satoshi Nakamoto mined in January 2009 often is referred to as The Genesis Block.

Van Wirdum studied journalism as well as politics and science at the University of Utrecht. 

He discovered Bitcoin in 2013 and has worked for many years in Bitcoin Magazine, including as editor-in-chief for the print edition.

The book covers a description of the ideas and actual problems related to

- the problem that Bitcoin aims at solving, which is the political control and abuse of the monetary system

- a global pool of multidisciplinary geniouses' attempts at creating a form of digital money based on chryptography that could break the rulers' monopolies, most notably people in the Cypherpunk movement

- Satoshi Nakamoto's solution to the problem, and how it for the most part represents a clever pick-and-choose of the best technical features and ideas in various failed projects of the past

The content is based on scholarly research, including in-depth studies of economics, politics and computer science, as well as on interviews with some important people in this history, including Adam Back and David Chaum.

The language is clear and easy to read. 

The book's content is structured logically, with (1) chronology + (2) early giving the reader a good basic understanding of the relevant ideas related to technology, economics and politics, as two overarching principles. 

It includes chapters that presents in-depth presentations of many of the various attempts at creating a revolutionary monetary system. 

Van Wirdums gives us insights into some of the innovators' background and personalities. 

Reading about how they interacted with others within and outside the community, makes the book an engaging read.

The bibliography and endnotes are extensive and the total volume of the book comes in at 346 pages.

For a book that covers so much ground in terms of history, sociology, culture, politics, economics, technology, game theory and chryptography, it's impressively easy to read. 

I'm not well versed in the technical domain, and therefore I had to slow down my reading in some parts of the book - to try to get the essence of for instance how different forms of chryptography works. 

However, I consider that to be a pleasant part of the reading experience as well, because it gives me a psychological reward when I feel that the book helps me develop my interdisciplanary skills.

Lastly, I believe The Genesis Book gives us a glimpse of the author's own personality: 

He treats people with respect and sobriety,  presents the history with good structure, a clear and uncomplicated language, gives ample room for engaging storytelling, as he sneaks knowledge and understanding into the readers' minds without giving us the feeling that we are studying - instead just reading for the pleasure of it. 

It takes significant curiosity, talent in pedagogics, long experience with writing and a high level of intelligence to produce something like this.

Thank you, Aaron van Wirdum, for  this massive feat of yours. 

I'll store the book safely, and won't lend it to anyone except my nearest family. 

And who knows - my copy of The Genesis Book might gain significant economic value in the future, just like Bitcoin did. https://image.nostr.build/3f82bcdcbeb1b588e681f6b8d5d399558c61968707e87fdfcf6a5ec34f4b1276.jpg