Excerpts from Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay, 2/5

Argh, I hate abridged books and would never have purchased this if I’d known it only contained the first (and arguably, most boring) 100 pages of the complete book, whose unabridged summary deceptively appears on the back of this one.  I was promised stories about alchemy, mesmerism, witch burnings and crusades, but all this slim collection contains is esoteric accounts of early stock market crashes.  I found these to be almost incomprehensible, thanks to all the economic terminology, but an accountant, stock trader or student of finance might find them very interesting.

Why I read it: What can I say, the cover appealed to me and it was almost free.