"The market never ceases to befuddle and beguile. These twovenerable works are fixtures on the short lists for most valuablebooks on the securities markets, and investors continue to cherishthem." -From the Introduction by Martin S. Fridson ManagingDirector, Merrill Lynch & Co. Author of InvestmentIllusions Exploring the sometimes hilarious, sometimes devastating impact ofcrowd behavior and trading trickery on the financial markets, thisbook brilliantly combines two all-time investment classics.Extraordinary Popular Delusions and Confusión de Confusionestake us from Tulipmania in 1634-when tulips actually traded at ahigher price than gold-to the South Sea "bubble" of 1720, andbeyond. Securities analyst and author Martin Fridson guides you ona quirky, entertaining, and intriguing journey back throughtime. Chosen by the Financial Times as Two of the Ten Best Books EverWritten on Investment Critical Praise . . . "This is the most important book ever written about crowdpsychology and, by extension, about financial markets. A seriousstudent of the markets and even anyone interested in the extremesof human behavior should read this book!" -Ron Insana, CNBC "In combining 'Extraordinary' with 'Confusion,' the result is notextraordinary confusion. Instead, with clarity, the book sears intomodern investor minds the dangers of following the crowd." -GregHeberlein, The Seattle Times "You will see between its staid lines (written in ye olde Englishand as ponderable as Buddha's navel) that, despite what the mediasays, nothing really important has changed in the financial marketsin centuries." -Kenneth L. Fisher, Forbes

"The market never ceases to befuddle and beguile. These twovenerable works are fixtures on the short lists for most valuablebooks on the securities markets, and investors continue to cherishthem." -From the Introduction by Martin S. Fridson ManagingDirector, Merrill Lynch & Co. Author of InvestmentIllusions Exploring the sometimes hilarious, sometimes devastating impact ofcrowd behavior and trading trickery on the financial markets, thisbook brilliantly combines two all-time investment classics.Extraordinary Popular Delusions and Confusión de Confusionestake us from Tulipmania in 1634-when tulips actually traded at ahigher price than gold-to the South Sea "bubble" of 1720, andbeyond. Securities analyst and author Martin Fridson guides you ona quirky, entertaining, and intriguing journey back throughtime. Chosen by the Financial Times as Two of the Ten Best Books EverWritten on Investment Critical Praise . . . "This is the most important book ever written about crowdpsychology and, by extension, about financial markets. A seriousstudent of the markets and even anyone interested in the extremesof human behavior should read this book!" -Ron Insana, CNBC "In combining 'Extraordinary' with 'Confusion,' the result is notextraordinary confusion. Instead, with clarity, the book sears intomodern investor minds the dangers of following the crowd." -GregHeberlein, The Seattle Times "You will see between its staid lines (written in ye olde Englishand as ponderable as Buddha's navel) that, despite what the mediasays, nothing really important has changed in the financial marketsin centuries." -Kenneth L. Fisher, Forbes

This book is the first that describes the practices of any stock exchange; it makes evident a high development of practices, with puts, calls, pools, and manipulations; and it appeared as early as the seventeenth century. Not inappropriately the stock exchange described is that of Amsterdam, a city which at the date of the volume’s publication —1688 — was still the leading financial center of the world. The book, to be sure, is hardly a systematic account of the institution; the author pursued moral, philosophical, and rhetorical objectives, and, while saying a lot that seems now to be of little value, manages somehow to leave unsaid a great deal that would be of interest for us. Nevertheless, it represents, even in its peculiar form, a really important source of information about the stock exchange, and indeed about the Dutch business world of that period.

Excerpt from Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions, Vol. 2 A forest huge of spears and thronging helms Appear'd, and serried shields, in thick array. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The jargon of economics and finance contains numerous colorful terms for market-asset prices at odds with any reasonable economic explanation. Examples include "bubble," "tulipmania," "chain letter," "Ponzi scheme," "panic," "crash," "herding," and "irrational exuberance." Although such a term suggests that an event is inexplicably crowd-driven, what it really means, claims Peter Garber, is that we have grasped a near-empty explanation rather than expend the effort to understand the event. In this book Garber offers market-fundamental explanations for the three most famous bubbles: the Dutch Tulipmania (1634-1637), the Mississippi Bubble (1719-1720), and the closely connected South Sea Bubble (1720). He focuses most closely on the Tulipmania because it is the event that most modern observers view as clearly crazy. Comparing the pattern of price declines for initially rare eighteenth-century bulbs to that of seventeenth-century bulbs, he concludes that the extremely high prices for rare bulbs and their rapid decline reflects normal pricing behavior. In the cases of the Mississippi and South Sea Bubbles, he describes the asset markets and financial manipulations involved in these episodes and casts them as market fundamentals.

Demonstrates how an unconscious fear of death motivates nearly all human goals, behaviors, and cultures, examining the role of mortality awareness in prompting social unrest and war.

Quicksilver is the story of Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinker and conflicted Puritan, pursuing knowledge in the company of the greatest minds of Baroque-era Europe, in a chaotic world where reason wars with the bloody ambitions of the mighty, and where catastrophe, natural or otherwise, can alter the political landscape overnight. It is a chronicle of the breathtaking exploits of "Half-Cocked Jack" Shaftoe -- London street urchin turned swashbuckling adventurer and legendary King of the Vagabonds -- risking life and limb for fortune and love while slowly maddening from the pox. And it is the tale of Eliza, rescued by Jack from a Turkish harem to become spy, confidante, and pawn of royals in order to reinvent Europe through the newborn power of finance. A gloriously rich, entertaining, and endlessly inventive novel that brings a remarkable age and its momentous events to vivid life, Quicksilver is an extraordinary achievement from one of the most original and important literary talents of our time. And it's just the beginning ...