Manias, panics, and crashes
a history of financial crises
by Charles Poor Kindleberger, Robert Aliber, R. Aliber · first published 1978
73% recommend27% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Historical survey of financial bubbles and crises, from Dutch tulip mania onward, built on Minsky's theory of how bubbles form and grow; recommended for readers wanting a grounded view of market manias and leverage.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"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 i
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Panics, Manias and Crashes [1] tells a good story about him and his schemes. [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/367596.Manias_Panics_and...
on “The Scotsman and his stories brought France much prosperity, for a time” ↗Actually, you've missed quite a few big ones, have you read Kindlebarger? http://www.amazon.com/Manias-Panics-Crashes-Financial-Invest... I wouldn't say that bubbles are rare at all, and it wouldn't surprise me if there were lots of them before 1637 that just aren't well recorded. The limited scope of trade…
on “Why asset bubbles are a part of the human condition that regulation can’t cure” ↗…bubble is usually twice as fast as its inflation, the opposite of which is true in the current bitcoin decrease. A good resource on the connection between leverage and financial bubbles is Kindleberger's "Manias, Panics, and Crashes"
on “Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust” ↗…interested in risk and volatility, this list might be a bit biased but here we go: A random walk down Wallstreet Options and volatility pricing, by Natenberg Why stock markets crash, by Didier sornette Manias, panics and Crashes by Aliber and Kindleberger Debt: the first 5000 years
on “Ask HN: Book recommendations for understanding financial systems?” ↗It's not just margin calls but leverage in general that turns downcycles into crashes, if you believe Kindleberger (and you should). [1] 1. http://www.amazon.com/Manias-Panics-Crashes-Financial-Invest...
on “Bitcoin August 14 Flash Crash” ↗Also according to Kindleberger ("manias, panics, crashes"), which is slightly more accessible than Fisher. I cannot recommend this book more to people interested in having insightful things to say about market bubbles. http://www.amazon.com/Manias-Panics-Crashes-Financial-Invest...…
on “Sorry to burst your bubble” ↗…the other way around. Be careful of the permabear outlook and excessive Elliott Wave woo though. - Financial histories (essential reading IMO): Galbraith's history of the 1929 crash, Jim Grant's stuff, Manias, Panics, and Crashes, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, etc - Naked Capitalism blog - Karl Marx and Henryk Grossman (the TRPF explains a lot of financial/investing phenomena like stock market cap…
on “Money market funds swell by over $273B as investors pull deposits from banks” ↗Manias, Panics, and Crashes by Charles Kindleberger is a more modern book, which I'd recommend as well.
on “Tulip mania: when a single flower was worth more than a house” ↗…traders https://www.amazon.com/Market-Wizards-Jack-D-Schwager/dp/088... https://www.amazon.com/The-New-Market-Wizards-Conversations/... https://www.amazon.com/Hedge-Fund-Market-Wizards-Winning/dp/... Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises by Charles P. Kindleberger. Why good markets go bad https://www.amazon.com/Manias-Panics-Crashes-Financial-Inves... Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefevre. Fictionalized…
on “Ask HN: What are the must-read books about economics/finance?” ↗…people more or less agree on the right things to optimize (low, stable inflation; lower unemployment; somewhat high reserve requirements for banks, etc.). For anyone reading this, I recommend the book "Manias, Panics, and Crashes" it's not well organized but it's very interesting. Bubbles have a few things in common, they're speculative in nature, they're hypergeometric, and they’re fueled by credit expansion. More or less –…
on “Wall Street Banks Warn Downturn Is Coming” ↗Charles Kindelberger's "Manias, Panics & Crashes." Should be mandatory reading in HS. Starts with Minsky's theory of how economic bubbles occur and progress, then applies the theory beginning with the Tulip mania among the Dutch through to the modern era.
on “Ask HN: Good books on economic history?” ↗Two of my faves, Random Walk & Trading & Exchanges, have been mentioned by several others, so I won't comment further. Some other books I've enjoyed have been Lewis: Liar's Poker, Das: Traders, Guns & Money, Niederhoffer: Education of a Speculator, Partnoy: FIASCO and Kinderhoffer: Manias, Panics & Crashes. And Taleb: Fooled by Randomness.
on “Ask HN: How did you learn about stocks and the market?” ↗…https://www.amazon.com/Splendid-Exchange-Trade-Shaped-World/... https://www.amazon.com/Cash-Nexus-Money-Modern-1700-2000/dp/... https://www.amazon.com/Devil-Take-Hindmost-Financial-Specula... Academic but readable: https://www.amazon.com/Manias-Panics-Crashes-History-Financi... https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Financial-Capitalism-Internation...
on “The Invention of Money” ↗The Rise of Financial Capitalism: International Capital Markets in the Age of Reason (Studies in Monetary and Financial History) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0521457386/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_i-... Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises, Seventh Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017J5HBMS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_r.pw... Devil Take the Hindmost: A History of Financial Speculation https://www.amazon.com/dp/0452281806/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.a...…
on “The Long-Term Stock Exchange Opens for Business” ↗…must be avoided at all costs. As such, Bitcoin is macroeconomic cancer -- no matter how breathless its techno-utopian proponents may be. [1] Kindleberger, Charles P. and Aliber, Robert (2005 [1978]), Manias, Panics and Crashes. A History of Financial Crises, New York, ISBN 0-465-04380-1
on “Bitcoin Is Fundamentally Flawed” ↗