Ben Waber reviewed Boom and Bust by William Quinn
A Wide-Ranging, Somewhat Disconnected History
4 stars
Particularly relevant today given our massive generative AI bubble, Quinn and Turner review and analyze different bubbles throughout history, focusing attention only on ones where new financial instruments were used or new technologies developed. By far the most interesting example here was the UK's bicycle bubble in the 19th century, which I had been completely unaware of but after the fallout did leave us with a few firms such as Dunlop and Rally that are still around. I wish there was more comparison and connective tissue between the different bubbles that they examine, although there is a bit in the final sections. The idea that some bubbles leave ruins and pain while others are mostly contained and leave some useful companies/technologies is important to understand more deeply. Highly recommend
Particularly relevant today given our massive generative AI bubble, Quinn and Turner review and analyze different bubbles throughout history, focusing attention only on ones where new financial instruments were used or new technologies developed. By far the most interesting example here was the UK's bicycle bubble in the 19th century, which I had been completely unaware of but after the fallout did leave us with a few firms such as Dunlop and Rally that are still around. I wish there was more comparison and connective tissue between the different bubbles that they examine, although there is a bit in the final sections. The idea that some bubbles leave ruins and pain while others are mostly contained and leave some useful companies/technologies is important to understand more deeply. Highly recommend