Whereas many critics have attempted to fracture the myth of the all-knowing, all-wise Shakespeare, Turner argues compellingly that his work is remarkably insightful regarding 300 years of history and can be used to examine current socioeconomic issues....Readers will find food for thought in this gracefully presented text.

• 1: Introduction: Understanding Money 2: "Great Creating Nature": How Human Economics Grows out of Natural Increase 3: "Nothing Will Come of Nothing": The Love Bond and the Meaning of Zero 4: "My Purse, My Purse": How Bonds Connect People and Property, Souls and Bodies 5: "The Quality of Mercy is Not Strained": Why Justice Must be Lubricated with Mercy 6: "Never Call a True Piece of Gold a Counterfeit": How Does One Stamp a Value on a Coin and Make it Stick? 7: "Thou Owest God a Death": Debt, Time, and the Parable of the Talents 8: "Bounty...That Grew the More for Reaping": Why Creation Enters into Bonds 9: "Dear Life Redeems You": The Economics of Resurrection 10: "O Brave New World": Shakespeare and the Economic Failure Bibliography (Suggestions for Further Reading)