Since the 2008 financial crisis the price of gold has sky-rocketed, from around $800 an ounce in August of that year to a peak of around $1700 an ounce. Fortunes have been made, and this has kicked off an unprecedented gold-mining and prospective boom around the world. In this book Matthew Hart takes readers on a journey around the world and through history to tell the story of how gold became the world's most precious commodity, the highlights of its dramatic, tempestuous history, and the behind-the-scenes intrigue of the current boom. He ends this controversial rollercoaster story by revealing what the experts are saying about the profound changes underway in the gold market and the prospects for the future.