Wolfson's classic account of financial crises in the US is thoroughly revised and updated throughout, not only in the new chapter that recounts the crises since publication of the first edition of 1986. However, Wolfson is moving away from the framework of the business cycle as he seeks to explain financial crises that do not occur at the business-cycle peak. Accordingly, two new chapters explore noncyclical theories of financial crises and develop significantly the analysis of institutional change only hinted at in the first edition. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR