Money Mania

RECESSION PROOF: While worldwide market instability is bad for balance sheets, it's proven a boon for publishers. Readers snap up accounts of market collapses, from Liaquat Ahamed to Michael Lewis. Swarup has the City/Wall Street cred to get attention, and the skills as a writer and thinker to give us a new perspective on financial folly.HOW SMART WENT CRAZY: With a Phd in Cosmology, and a resume that includes running billion-dollar hedge funds, Swarup has a unique combination to shed light on the human side of market manias. His deep understanding goes beyond the journalistic "what" to give us the "why" of why markets go haywire.SECOND OLDEST PROFESSION: We all know about 2011, and 2008, and the dot com burst, and 1987's recession, and 1929. But Swarup teaches readers--in sparkling narrative history--about everything from the international mega-depression of 1873 to medieval China's disastrous dalliance with paper money.PERFECT BLEND: Combining a historian's nuance with the chops of a skilled business reporter, Swarup hits that perfect sweet spot, blending reportage with rock-solid grasp of the details. Swarup is a revelation for fans of business journalism.FIVE YEAR PLAN: Money Mania will pub just before the fifth anniversary of the 2008 near-collapse of global financial system -- lots of opportunities to plug in media.Bob Swarup is a respected investor, thought leader and commentator on financial markets, investments and regulation. Born in India in 1977, he was educated in England. He holds an MA from the University of Cambridge, two Master degrees, and a Phd in cosmology from Imperial College London. He has managed investments at financial institutions, sat on the boards of hedge funds and private equity firms, worked closely with leading think tanks, advised policymakers and industry alike, and is an award-winning journalist. He lives in London.Money Mania is a sweeping account of financial speculation and its consequences, from ancient Rome to the Meltdown of 2008. Acclaimed journalist and investor Bob Swarup tracks the history of speculative fevers caused by the appearance of new profitable investment opportunities; the new assets created and the increasing self-congratulatory euphoria that drives them to unsustainable highs, all fed by an illusion of insight and newly minted experts; the unexpected catalysts that eventually lead to panic; the inevitable crash as investors scramble to withdraw their funds from the original market and any other that might resemble it; and finally, the brevity of financial memory that allows us to repeat the cycle without ever critically evaluating the drivers of this endless cycle. In short, it is the story of what makes us human.Five centuries of financial bubbles and investment manias, told with rich historical detail and an insider's financial acumen, for fans of Michael Lewis, Liaquat Ahamed, and brilliant business writing.Swarup's book is a rich, anecdote-driven account . It's a much needed dose of common sense and old-school philosophy. a great romp through the history of financial crises...a strikingly original writer.Money Mania presents a rigorously researched history packed with great stories and insights. Swarup takes the reader through a fascinating and thought provoking analysis of emotional biases, money, credit and social complexity. Financial manias and panics are a rhythmic feature of the collective human experience, with societal consequences correlated to the degree of economic integration and financialization. The vexing question for every serious investor today is whether our uniquely complex modern society is at risk of another systemic crisis. Money Mania is a timely, well written reminder that this question should be given renewed priority.London-based cosmologist, investment manager, and journalist Swarup takes a very long view of the economic cycles that define both modern and ancient societies. He traces the same foibles of human nature that caused financial disaster in the Roman Empire to those that contributed to the most recent global economic woes. While it may seem that Swarup's training as a physicist gives him a deeper understanding of cosmic cycles than traditionally trained economists, it's his analysis of the human elements that make his work so compelling and comprehensible, as he expertly surfs the crests and troughs of the economy and examines the behavior that contributes to the bumpy ride. VERDICT If Swarup's analysis didn't hit so close to home, this title would be a cozier read. His analysis points out that ordinary citizens are often as much to blame for financial crises as inanimate financial forces or regulatory mismanagement. But the book is well worth reading for its engaging and long-reaching investigation of what fuels money mania and why it matters.Five centuries of financial bubbles and investment manias, told with rich historical detail and an insider's financial acumen, for fans of The Big Short, Liaquat Ahamed, and brilliant business writing.