Debt: The First 5,000 Years is a book by anthropologist David Graeber published in 2011. It explores the historical relationship of debt with social institutions such as barter, marriage, friendship, slavery, law, religion, war and government. It draws on the history and anthropology of a number of civilizations, large and small, from the first known records of debt from Sumer in 3500 BCE until the present.
A very interesting essay about the economic debt from an anthropologist perspective.
But... you really have to be VERY interested in this topic, it will be a tough reading otherwise ;-)
