The invention of paper money serves as one of the primal scenes of German literature.
German literature becomes the outlet for testing the links and limits of money.
Literature, like money, occupies an ambiguous relationship between plentitude and inflation, resource and lack thereof. First published in Germany as Kopf oder Zahl in 1996 and now superbly translated into English by Amy Horning Marschall, Heads or Tails studies the status of money in modern German literature. Heads or Tails is an original and exciting book that is full of witty prose and insightful observation about culture. The book will appeal to anyone seeking knowledge of the history of money and its role in literature. Students and scholars of cultural studies, German, and comparative literature will delight in this remarkable work from one of Germany's prominent literary critics.