Not sure what that fella's opinion is that he wrote in that book, I am just relaying what I actually experienced in REAL life. It has "real" value in other countries. Go traveling sometime. They will stop you on the street to ask you to do some money trading. They actually pay more on the black market then they will give you in a bank. Just make sure you transact in the open. One fella tried to get me to go to a hotel room saying he did not have enough on his person.