Customer Reviews

Frenzy: Bubbles, Busts, and How to Come Out Ahead

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have to take issue with one of the above reviews. I don't think that "Frenzy" is out to amuse or entertain, so much as it's meant to inform and enrich a wider audience. Indeed, much of Haacke's rigorous analysis neatly bundles together a mountain of disparate and diffuse information and distills from that process what I found to be meaningful lessons for the future (and arguably, the present). I happen to have an MBA, but think that the book will appeal to anyone who is curious about a heady time in our recent past and would like to better understand it with the benefit of historical perspective.

Frenzy is an extremely compelling and insightful book. Carl Haacke takes one through the various stages of a bubble in a very engaging manner with quotations from those who really experienced it, benefited from it, and got burnt by it. It's a
page turning adventure through the most powerful forces that drive the innovative frontier of capitalism.

At the same time, it is chock full of penetrating insights that will grab even the savviest readers. One of the interesting things is that the book does not characterize bubbles as "irrational exuberance" or "group psychology" as many others have done. Instead, it shows how the phenonomenon is driven by very rational people caught in complex market conditions. Frenzy offers very valuable suggestions on indicators of bubbles, and warnings of information distortions during bubbles.

The book also does a great job showing that bubbles are not just about stock market but also about big businesses, small businesses and day to day decision making as people pursue seemingly huge opportunties.

I thorughly enjoyed the book.

When the guys who practically invented venture capital, private equity and technology investing recommend a book I listen. Tom Perkins said Frenzy was "brilliant" and a "must read." Alan Patricof and AT&T CEO Dave Dorman both said incredible things about it and they are right! Frenzy is a great mix of engaging, easy to read, providing some easy frameworks for understanding bubbles but also uncovering some really interesting nuances.

You don't hear those adjective much about business books or investing books. But Carl Haacke breaks the mold and creates a terrific book!

Haacke makes a compelling case that bubbles are not rare events that we can ignore once they pass but in fact are everywhere. With really great interviews and solid analysis he gives the reader a fascinating inside look at what drives with some really unexpected insights.

This book is terrific. It is both a fascinating read and insightful on a broad range of issues. Anyone interested in the inner workings of business trends or financial markets should find it illiminating.

It is both easy to read without sacrificing solid and grounded research and a compelling model to help readers identify the driving forces of bubbles.

For a general audience a great companion book is:
Devil Take the Hindmost: A History of Financial Speculation
by Edward Chancellor

For a more academic audience a great companion book is:
Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages
by Carlota Perez

For those who are interested, there will be supplementary data and graphs available at skylightconsulting.com

This book will be a classic and read for generations ! It is groundbreaking, compelling and couldn't be more timely given that we are swiming in bubbles in real estate, China, hedge funds, nanotechnology. I'm sure there are others. I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone say or read in an article, "this feels like Dot.com 1990s." Frenzy shows in a fascinating study of human nature that it feels the same because it is the same.

Frenzy is the best account of the inner working of bubbles I've ever read. Recent books by journalists such Maggie Maher and Roger Lowenstein are great stories, but lack the theory to pull them together and provide deeper insight. Frenzy both tells some great stories but more importantly helps the reader see how they fit into a groundbreaking framework for how bubbles work.

This is the first book that analyzes the real behavior and decision making of investors and managers to explain how bubbles work and Haacke is able to move comfortably and clearly between hard analysis to softer human issues. For example, his section on the role of trust and risk are extremely interesting and applicable to many situations. On the practical side, Frenzy also maps out the most common mistakes made, provides warning signs of what to look out for in the future, and guides for what to do.

Haacke has done some incredible interviews with top VCs, business managers and stock analysts and creates and an elegant and simple map of 1) How information and analysis becomes undermined during bubbles, 2) how the competitive marketplace gets distorted, 3) and how the flow of money fuels the system. Sprinkled throughout are historical examples to show parallels between bubbles at various times and places. There is also a specific chapter that gives more in depth case studies of the Railway mania and PC bubbles. The last chapter addresses the future, which for Haacke will mean an increasing number of bubbles.

Frenzy is like a mix of Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point, Roger Lowenstein's When Genius Failed, and Kindleberger's History of Mania's, Panics and Crashes.

I only wish it was longer. Like a good mystery writer, Haacke keeps you yearning more to be uncovered.

This is a really great book filled with nuggets of deep insight which have changed my way of looking at markets and the economy.

I always thought bubbles were rare "defects" in a generally efficient market. Haacke clearly shows that rational decisions by intelligent people naturally lead to bubbles in many different environments. After reading the book, I see bubbles of different kinds all over the place. Haacke provides, in plain, easy to understand language, a guide book to spotting and even predicting market frenzies. I am already working on my start up for the home Robotics bubble to come!

Unlike your typical worthless "how to pick the next hot stock" book - if you read frenzy and use it - you could make real money,

Mark Cuban money.

Buy the book and read it.

Even though I was a first-hand participant in the tech bubble, I never felt that I had entirely understood what my friends, coworkers and I had been through, other than with an anecdote here or a story of financial ruin there. But "Frenzy" systematically breaks down the principles of bubble economics, so successfully that, for the first time, I really feel as if I understood the essential nature of that crazy euphoria that swept up everyone from the individual investor to the CEO of the most venerable of brick-and-mortar companies. It's a frenzy that's bound to happen again -- if not already in biotech or China investment -- and I feel far better situated now to join the minority who can profit from the next one.

If you're in banking, finance or law, Frenzy is required reading.

I had high expectations from this book, based on the positive reviews here. Instead, the book turned out to be a strenuous regurgitation of all things that are well-known and understood about the bubbles. There is also a bit of false advertising, since the book claims to talk about bubbles in general, but instead dwells heavily on the ".com" bubble. The attempts to draw parallels between previous bubbles (such as a RailRoad bubble) and the ".com" frenzy are weak and unconvincing. The author fails to point out substantial differences between different types of bubbles such as a stock market and the real estate. The only valuable information are comments on hystorical bubbles of the past.

I bought this book based on the recommendations and the review from Publisher's Weekly, which is usually on point. The book is well researched and does explain how bubbles start, grow and end. However, I would not say that this book is amusing or insightful and I agree that none of the information or suggestions will be heeded during the next bubble.

My problem with the book is that it is written like a research paper or dissertation with a lot of quotes that disrupts the flow of the book. The first two chapters of the book(more than 50%) devote over 100 pages to examining how bubbles arise. Yet, there is nothing new that hasn't been written by others. The suggestions given in the last chapter are not insightful and will help little in protecting yourself once a bubble bursts.

Again, the book is well researched and accurate in regards to the dynamics of a bubble and thus the three star rating. I would recommend this book for researchers, academics and MBA-types pursuing a career in Venture Capital. To others, I recommend reading the Introduction, which summarizes the first two chapters, and the last chapter to get the gist of what the book was written to provide.