Since its introduction in 1978, this book has charted and followed the volatile world of financial markets. Charles Kindleberger's brilliant, panoramic history revealed how financial crises follow a pattern. Events of recent years and the current Eurozone continue to dominate policy and headline debates around the globe. In this updated and expanded seventh edition, Robert Z. Aliber probes the most recent calamities and changes in the markets, including the unique nature of economic activities in China. Most significantly, Robert Z. Aliber proposes, for the first time, that the sequence of global financial tensions in recent years are not independent events, or a case of 'bad actors' at play, but symptomatic of an inherent instability in the international system. With an updated Foreword from Robert M. Solow and a new Afterword from Lord Robert Skidelsky, this edition exemplifies the continued importance of Kindleberger's work and Aliber's ongoing examination of financial crises around the world.