Manias, Casinos, Bubbles and Crashes

With incomparable wisdom, writing and analytical skills, and wit, world renowned economist E. Ray Canterbery traces the history of the major speculative episodes in the world economy over the last three centuries. He begins with Tulipmania and ends with bitcoin speculation in exposing the way in which normally sane people display reckless abandon in the pursuit of profit. Canterbery shows how our notoriously short financial memory is what creates the conditions for market collapse. Throughout, the market is considered sacrosanct, much to the regret of the losers. By recognizing certain signs and understanding what causes them we can guard against future collapses and have a better hold on the country’s (and our own) financial destiny.

A former Professor of Economics, E. Ray Canterbery is one of the most respected economist-writers worldwide. John Kenneth Galbreath, who knew both Michal Kalecki and John Maynard Keynes, called Canterbery, “the best.” Canterbery conducted research at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, which led to the biographical book, Harry S. Truman: The Economics of a Populist President. Canterbery is the author of many other acclaimed works. Among these are Inequality and Supra-surplus Capitalism, a sequel to John Kenneth Galbraith’s The Affluent Society, and The Rise and Decline of Global Austerity. Before these came The Global Great Recession, which Canterbery and Business Week named. And, there were many others: the ones still in print can be viewed at Amazon.com. Some 57 of his many articles have been published in a collection titled The Collected Works of E. Ray Canterbery (Singapore, London: World Scientific Publishers, 2017). Some of his books are available in several languages.

“Canterbery served as President of the Eastern Economics Association in 1986-87 and of the International Trade and Finance Association in 1997-98. In January 1996, Prentice-Hall, Inc. selected him for one of their 100 Hall of Fame Economists Baseball Cards for significant contributions to the economics discipline,” including “developing one of the first complete mathematical theories of foreign exchange.”

The International Biography Centre in Cambridge, England includes Canterbery among 500 persons worldwide in its Living Legends, among 2000 scholars worldwide in its Outstanding Scholars in the 21^st Century, among One Thousand Great Intellectuals, among 2000 Outstanding People worldwide, and among 1000 Great Americans. The American Biographical Institute includes Canterbery in its Great Minds of the 21^st Century, among many other awards. He is also is listed in selected issues of Marquis Who’s Who in the World and Who’s Who in America.