This book was referenced several times in "Juggling Dynamite" so I thought I'd check it out. Galbraith's style reminds me of the intellectuals I was always tripping over at the University but he's quite readable. In fact, the book is pretty funny in a sarcastic, cutting kind of way. Galbraith reviews the aspects of human nature and the economy that allow us to constantly go into boom and bust cycles. He starts around the time of "Tulipomania" in the 1600s and goes right up through the 20th century with examples of euphoric times and their inevitable disasterous endings. Definitely worth reading if you're educating yourself in the ways of finance.