WEIMAR: The Truth About History's Most Infamous Hyperinflation Horror Story

Weimar Germany after World War One went through one of the worst hyperinflations in history, unleashing untold horrors on the German people and their economy.

To this day, "Weimar" is always invoked as the ultimate hyperinflation horror story.

Critics of the Federal Reserve's extraordinary attempts to stimulate the economy since the 2008 financial crisis and recession - like the program of large-scale bond purchases known as quantitative easing - have warned that the U.S. central bank's easy-money policies were dangerous and could eventually stoke unwanted inflation.

Ever since earlier this year, when the Fed hinted that it could move to begin rolling back quantitative easing soon, inflation premiums have collapsed as real interest rates have soared. Gold, for example - a metal often viewed as an inflation hedge - crashed earlier this year.

Adam Fergusson wrote the definitive book on Weimar - a real instance of hyperinflation - titled When Money Dies.

It used to be out of print and a bit hard to find, but now you can find it in its entirety online.

We summarized the key elements of Fergusson's book.