Two Centuries of Panic: A history of corporate collapses in Australia

Two Centuries of Panic is a book of breathtaking energy and scope. Rich in sensation and scandal, it is the first history ever published of corporate collapses in Australia from the first bank closure in the 1820s through the four great recessions of the 1840s, 1890s, 1920s and 1970s to the downfall of the house of Gollin.

The book’s pages are peopled with some of the most famous names in Australian history - among them Lachlan Macquarie, John Macarthur, Alfred Deakin, Red Ted Theodore, Benjamin Boyd and Claude de Bernales - names associated with some of the largest and most dramatic corporate collapses in Australia.

Acclaimed on publication as a classic contribution to the history of business in Australia, Two Centuries of Panic will fascinate all who are interested in money, and in the people who make it.

‘It is difficult to overstate the excellence or importance of Trevor Sykes’ book. It is essential reading. What is more, it is fun to read. No academic could have written as good a book as this.‘ - P. P. McGuinness

'The author is to be congratulated for his efforts. The book is recommended strongly. Take it along as intimidating ammunition when next you visit investment advisers, brokers and other members of the financial brethren.’ - Professor Warren Hogan

‘What Sykes has produced is 22 chapters of investigative financial journalism - each one of which could stand along as a book in its own right.’ - Maximilian Walsh