The Great Mirror of Folly Finance, Culture, and the Crash of 1720 William N. Goetzmann, Catherine Labio, K.Geert Rouwenhorst, Timothy G. Young, Robert J. Shiller

The world's first global stock market bubble suddenly burst in 1720, destroying the dreams and fortunes of speculators in London, Paris and Amsterdam virtually overnight. Their folly and misfortune inspired the publication of an extraordinary Dutch collection of satirical prints, plays, poetry, commentary and financial prospectuses entitled Het groote Tafereel de Dwaasheid (The Great Mirror of Folly'), a unique and lavish record of the financial crisis and its cultural dimensions. The current book adopts the title. It is a book a bout the book, a wide-ranging interdisciplinary collaboration that uncovers the meaning and influence of the Tafereel and the profound, lasting and multifaceted impact of the crash of 1720 on European cultures and financial markets.

William N. Goetzmann is the Edwin J. Beinecke Professor of Finance and Management at the Yale School of Management. Catherine Labio is associate professor of English at the University of Colorado Boulder. K. Geert Rouwenhorst is Robert B. & Candice J. Haas Professor of Corporate Finance at the Yale School of Management. Timothy G. Young is curator of modern books and manuscripts at Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.