This is a
fascinating book about a fascinating time, the early eighteenth century. You will find greed, corruption, romance,
duels, kings, regents and stock-jobbing scoundrels, often described by such astute contemporary chroniclers as Daniel Defoe. But this book rests on a foundation, sometimes a little too evident, of solid and painstaking
financial analysis. It is perhaps the first book, certainly the first recent book, to present in great detail the analysis of Archibald Hutcheson. Hutcheson seems to have been a lone voice for sobriety and reason in the mad epoch of the South Sea Bubble. Author Richard Dale carefully draws a remarkable number of clear parallels between the first bubble in history and the most recent - the tech splat of the 1990s. getAbstract.com believes that anyone who is involved in the financial markets should read this book. It is particularly timely in bull markets.