Book Review: “Understanding Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency: A Beginners Guide to the Crypto Revolution”
Having struggled through the pains of getting into the Bitcoin ecosystem as a non-tech person, in VERY late 2013 (i.e. not a good time!), I always appreciate any content that is tailored for beginners. With Bitcoin, “learning by reading” will serve you far better than “learning by doing” when actual money is at play. Furthermore, the pool of people wanting to learn about Bitcoin come from basically every economic & social background, so it’s good to see Bitcoin being explained by people with contrasting life contexts. A house-builder will explain Bitcoin in a different way that “someone building on Bitcoin” would…
So, on to “learning by reading” and different contexts! I’ve just finished reading a book by Martin May-Clingo, a Royal Navy Veteran turned Internet Entrepreneur titled “Understanding Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency: Beginners Guide to the Crypto Revolution”. Having read the book on the basis of my understanding of May-Clingo’s personal story and context in the preface to the book, I can say that it is aimed at an older and more broadly informed audience. It gives readers the minimum they need to know about the technical side of things, which I believe is very important in a beginner level book. Basically, by the end of reading this book, an open-minded unbiased beginner should be reasonably satisfied that Bitcoin is indeed not a fad or scam, and may even consider using the book’s lessons on buying, using, and storing bitcoin.
It is about a 4-hour read all up — with about 2 hours dedicated to Bitcoin, and 2 hours dedicated to altcoins. As a Bitcoin Maximalist, it was only a 2-hour read, and a cursory glance over the alts to check for reasonable accuracy as a public service. If altcoins are something you’d like to learn about, you will find a good overview here. If you are JUST looking to get into Bitcoin and JUST getting started — Bitcoin is confusing enough without having to talk about alts and “Proof-of-Love” (or whatever the kids are calling it these days).
This is my favourite passage from the book:
“There is a tendency for some Bitcoin holders to become overly focused on the fiat value of their Bitcoin. With all the media hype and sensationalism this is understandable; however, think about why you are buying your Bitcoin in the first place. Are you a:
- Speculator
- Investor
- True Believer of the new world order”
Although this gem is buried in Chapter 8 of the book, I believe it should be on the first few pages of every beginner level Bitcoin book there is. But, being a huge believer in individual liberty, I would just replace “True Believer of the new world order” with “True Believer in the Essence of Bitcoin”.
Going even further, I’d say that you need to learn about the socioeconomic soul of Bitcoin before anything else, and if you aren’t a true believer, don’t even bother yourself with speculation, or “investment” — you’re gonna have a bad time otherwise!
