Review:
Manias, Panics and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises
Author: Charles P. Kindleberger & Robert Z. Aliber
Published Date: 2011
Kindleberger's book was full of fascinating historical anecdotes but unfortunately seemed to get muddled by it's non-chronological style. Early on the book introduces Hyman Minsky's three part taxonomy of finance (Hedge, Speculative, & Ponzi) and continues through history using these classifications to explain various well known economic events.
They style of the book was exemplary as a dispassionate and informative review of a highly politicized topic. I couldn't pin down the authors personal opinions yet he still discussed "fringe" areas of economics, like Austrian economics, with the same deference as more mainstream schools.
All in all, this book is probably meant to be more of a reference book or academic study book rather than to be read straight through by laymen.
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