"The market never ceases to befuddle and beguile. These twovenerable works are fixtures on the short lists for most valuablebooks on the securities markets, and investors continue to cherishthem." -From the Introduction by Martin S. Fridson ManagingDirector, Merrill Lynch & Co. Author of InvestmentIllusions

Exploring the sometimes hilarious, sometimes devastating impact ofcrowd behavior and trading trickery on the financial markets, thisbook brilliantly combines two all-time investment classics.Extraordinary Popular Delusions and Confusión de Confusionestake us from Tulipmania in 1634-when tulips actually traded at ahigher price than gold-to the South Sea "bubble" of 1720, andbeyond. Securities analyst and author Martin Fridson guides you ona quirky, entertaining, and intriguing journey back throughtime.

Chosen by the Financial Times as Two of the Ten Best Books EverWritten on Investment

Critical Praise . . .

"This is the most important book ever written about crowdpsychology and, by extension, about financial markets. A seriousstudent of the markets and even anyone interested in the extremesof human behavior should read this book!" -Ron Insana, CNBC

"In combining 'Extraordinary' with 'Confusion, ' the result is notextraordinary confusion. Instead, with clarity, the book sears intomodern investor minds the dangers of following the crowd." -GregHeberlein, The Seattle Times

"You will see between its staid lines (written in ye olde Englishand as ponderable as Buddha's navel) that, despite what the mediasays, nothing really important has changed in the financial marketsin centuries." -Kenneth L. Fisher, Forbes
About the Author: Martin S. Fridson is a Managing Director at Merrill Lynch & Co., and a member of Institutional Investor's All-America Research Team. He is the author of Financial Statement Analysis, Second Edition and Investment Illusions, both published by Wiley. Fridson also serves on the editorial board of Financial Analysts Journal.

Charles Mackay, L.L.D., was a Scottish journalist in the nineteenth century. He received an honorary law degree from Glasgow University and was a renowned poet and songwriter.

Joseph de la Vega was a businessman and poet residing in seventeenth-century Amsterdam. He lived in a community of Portuguese Jews whose ancestors had fled the Spanish Inquisition.