Foreword -- Robert M. Solow -- Introduction -- Financial crises: a hardy perennial -- The anatomy of a typical crisis -- Speculative manias -- Fueling the flames : the expansion of credit -- The critical stage : when the bubble is about to pop -- Euphoria and paper wealth -- Bernie madoff : frauds, swindles, and the credit cycle -- International contagion 1618¿1930 -- Bubble contagion : mexico city to tokyo to bangkok to new york, london, and reykjavik -- Euromania and eurocrash -- Policy responses : benign neglect, exhortation, and bank holidays -- The domestic lender of last resort -- The international lender of last resort -- The lehman panic : an avoidable crash -- The lessons of history -- Epilogue -- Afterword / Lord Robert Skidelsky.