What causes financial crashes? What lessons can we learn from them? And how can we mitigate them in the future?

From the Wall Street Crash in 1929 to the global financial crisis of 2007-08, the great crashes have altered the course of history. In this accessible and authoritative book, renowned economist and broadcaster Linda Yueh analyses these cataclysmic events in turn, drawing comparisons with the previous crises and showing how each one affected the next.

Exploring everything from the currency crisis in Latin America in the 1980s to the Asian financial crisis and stagnation in Japan to the global financial crisis of 2008-9 and, finally, the global crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Yueh’s historical approach shows what lessons there are to be learned, whether about handling euphoria in the markets, building more robust institutions, or about maintaining confidence when money can increasingly move in and out of countries more quickly.

In part thanks to her role on the UK government’s 6-member Independent Review Panel on Ring-Fencing and Proprietary Trading, Yueh is uniquely positioned to provide critical insights about where the next crash might come from and how we can mitigate its effects. Combining her in-depth knowledge with her compelling storytelling, The Great Crashes is essential reading that offers clear-eyed analysis and urgent lessons for the modern world.