Charles P. Kindleberger (1910–2003)

In light of current events on the business front I have been dipping into a classic text that provides historical perspective for understanding the events of today.
This is the classic Manias, Panics, and Crashes by Charles P. Kindleberger. He provides a succinct history of economic crises in ten chapters plus a conclusion as to "The Lessons of History". Interestingly he feels it necessary in his first chapter to explain: "This book is an essay in what is derogatorily called today "literary show more economics," as opposed to mathematical economics, econometrics, or (embracing them both) the "new economic history."" (pp. 7-8)
Having received my own degree in Economics less than a decade before this book was published I found a kindred spirit in that I, too, preferred "literary economics", eschewing econometrics, et. al. I recommend Kindleberger's treatise as a good example of economics (without approving of all his views), history, or both. His analysis of various episodes of speculative fever in the markets and his thoughtful discussion of causes and lessons for today are worth reading and considering in light of our own economic turbulence. show less

Quite an unusual book. Instead of taking crises case by case, the author divides them on stages and gives a very detailed description of what happened on this or that stage, what are the similarities. This is a rare example of literary economics. It can be a very nice reference book but reading it is a bit hard

It is possible that I am just extraordinarily stupid about money. It is also possible that, even when they are writing for a lay audience, economists are extraordinarily poor at conveying information. When pages full of what appears to be information nevertheless fail to convey any concrete meaning I suspect one of two possibilities. (well three in fairness, if the 'I am too stupid to get this' option must be retained) Either the basic knowledge to make sense of the subject is just not show more there--for examples talk of genetics before Mendel; or these who understand what is going on have some reason for not wanting others to understand. In any case, I just didn't finish this book. show less

The book is regarded as a classic on the history of financial meltdowns similar to the 2008-09 global economic crisis. The author recounts bubbles and crashes over several centuries. The bottom line from his analysis is that the existence of a lender of last resort (like the IMF today) helps dampen and reduce the frequency of crashes. The author's style is informal and often witty. But understanding the content requires a lot of knowledge about banking and finance. In other words, the book show more often put me to sleep. show less