From ancient Rome to the Great Meltdown of 2008, this account of financial crises throughout history reveals the common human foibles that drive economic booms and busts.

In the 1630s the Netherlands was gripped by tulipmania: a speculative fever unprecedented in scale and, as popular history would have it, folly. We all know the outline of the story—how otherwise sensible merchants, nobles, and artisans spent all they had (and much that they didn’t) on tulip bulbs. We have heard how these bulbs changed hands hundreds of times in a single day, and how some bulbs, sold and resold for thousands of guilders, never even existed. Tulipmania is seen as an example of the gullibility of crowds and the dangers of financial speculation. But it wasn’t like that. As Anne Goldgar reveals in Tulipmania, not one of these stories is true. Making use of extensive archival research, she lays waste to the legends, revealing that while the 1630s did see a speculative bubble in tulip prices, neither the height of the bubble nor its bursting were anywhere near as dramatic as we tend to think. By clearing away the accumulated myths, Goldgar is able to show us instead the far more interesting reality: the ways in which tulipmania reflected deep anxieties about the transformation of Dutch society in the Golden Age. “Goldgar tells us at the start of her excellent debunking book: ‘Most of what we have heard of [tulipmania] is not true.’. . . She tells a new story.”—Simon Kuper, Financial Times

The finances of the country were in a state of the utmost disorder. A profuse and corrupt monarch, whose profuseness and corruption were imitated by almost every functionary, from the highest to the lowest grade, had brought France to the verge of ruin. The national debt amounted to 3000 millions of livres, the revenue to 145 millions, and the expenses of government to 142 millions per annum: leaving only three millions to pay the interest upon 3000 millions. -from "The Mississippi Scheme" The savings-and-loan scandals of the 1980s. The dotcom craze of the 1990s. The housing bubble of the 2000s. It may seem as if mass financial insanity is a result of complex global economies and modern high finance, but it's been with us for centuries, as this classic expose of the madness of humanity-particularly as it relates to money-demonstrates in a way that's both disturbing and highly illuminating for those wishing to avoid getting lost in such madness again. This abridged edition of the 1841 classic focuses exclusively on the infamous financial mania that have become bywords when discussing the economic collapses of today: [ the Mississippi Scheme, in which an 18th-century Scottish financier created a stock bubble in France for land in the New World [ the infamous tulip mania that seized Holland in the 1600s [ the South Sea bubble, the 18th-century stock swindle sometimes called "the Enron of England" These powerful studies of the human relationship to money remain startlingly relevant today... as they are sure to still be centuries from now. Scottish journalist CHARLES MACKAY (1814-1889) held an honorary law degree from Glasgow University, as well as a doctorate in literature. A renowned poetand songwriter, he also authored a Dictionary of Lowland Scotch.

Show Me the Money is the definitive business journalism textbook that offers hands-on advice and examples on doing the job of a business journalist. Author Chris Roush draws on his experience as a business journalist and educator to explain how to cover businesses, industries and the economy, as well as where to find sources of information for stories. He demonstrates clearly how reporters take financial information and turn it into relevant facts that explain a topic to readers. This definitive business journalism text: provides real-world examples of business articles presents complex topics in a form easy to read and understand offers examples of where to find news stories in SEC filings gives comprehensive explanations and reviews of corporate financial, balance sheet, and cash flow statements provides tips on finding sources, such as corporate investors and hard-to-find corporate documents gives a comprehensive listing of websites for business journalists to use. Key updates for the second edition include: tips from professional business journalists provided throughout the text new chapters on personal finance reporting and covering specific business beats expanded coverage of real estate reporting updates throughout to reflect significant changes in SEC, finance, and economics industries. With numerous examples of documents and stories in the text, Show Me the Money is an essential guide for students and practitioners doing business journalism.