Devil take the hindmost

In 'Devil Take the Hindmost,' Edward Chancellor traces the origins of the speculative spirit back to ancient Rome and chronicles its revival in the modern world.

The book covers various financial bubbles and crashes, including the tulip scandal of 1630s Holland, the South Sea Bubble of 1720, the railway mania of the 19th century, the crash of 1929, and more recent events like the dotcom bubble and the Japanese bubble economy.

Chancellor explores how human psychology and financial practices have led to repeated cycles of speculation and financial instability over the centuries.