Manias, panics, and crashes : a history of financial crises

"Manias, Panics, and Crashes probes the most recent natural disasters of the markets - from Black Monday to the Japanese boom and bust, from the sterling crisis and peso devaluation to the explosion in today's technology stocks.". "Kindleberger's writing leads the reader through a myriad of financial free falls. From the currency devaluation in the Holy Roman Empire in 1618, through the California gold rush of the 1840s and '50s to the crash of 1987, all the way up to the present day, his sharply drawn history confronts a host of key questions: In the ups and downs of market behavior, where is the line between rational and irrational? Are the markets a fool's paradise in an explosive world? When the storm expands to dangerous proportions, who will calm the panic? Should a "lender of last resort" intervene to repair the wreckage?" "Manias, Panics, and Crashes can be regarded as a warning or a proposition, reminding readers, in many ways, that what goes around comes around. Like all true classics, Kindleberger's book remains timely - for better or for worse."--BOOK JACKET. Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Financial Crisis: A Hardy Perennial....Pages 3-15 Anatomy of a Typical Crisis....Pages 16-27 Speculative Manias....Pages 28-56 Fueling the Flames: Monetary Expansion....Pages 57-85 The Emergence of Swindles....Pages 86-107 The Critical Stage....Pages 108-128 International Propagation....Pages 129-151 Letting It Burn Out, and Other Devices....Pages 152-177 The Lender of Last Resort....Pages 178-200 The International Lender of Last Resort....Pages 201-231 Conclusion: The Lessons of History....Pages 232-242 Back Matter....Pages 243-302 Written by the author of "A Financial History of Western Europe", this is a book about financial crises. As a series of financial crises has been unfolding since 1978 the author decided upon a revised edition.