A combined audiobook edition has been released featuring two foundational texts on financial market psychology: “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds” by Charles Mackay and “Confusión de Confusiones” by Joseph de la Vega.
Narrated by Victor Bevine, this unabridged production unites de la Vega’s 17th-century dialogue on the Dutch stock exchange with Mackay’s 19th-century study of social manias.
The volume includes an introduction by Martin S. Fridson, a managing director at Merrill Lynch & Co., providing a modern context to these historical works.
The collection examines the recurring impact of mass psychology and trading manipulation on global economics.
It details specific historical financial crises, ranging from the Dutch “Tulipmania” of 1634, where bulb prices reportedly exceeded the value of gold, to the collapse of the South Sea bubble in 1720.
The content serves as a longitudinal study of market irrationality, exploring how human emotion drives volatility and why the securities sector continues to “befuddle and beguile” participants centuries later.
Both texts included in this volume were selected by the Financial Times as being among the ten best books ever written on investment.
The publication aims to provide investors with a historical framework for understanding market sentiment, using past financial failures to illustrate the mechanics of crowd behavior and economic bubbles.
Key Takeaways:
- The audiobook combines two classic investment texts by Charles Mackay and Joseph de la Vega into a single volume.
- The content explores the history of market psychology through events like the 1634 Tulipmania and the 1720 South Sea bubble.
- The edition features an introduction by analyst Martin S. Fridson and is recognized by the Financial Times as essential reading.
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