The King, the Crook, and the Gambler: The True Story of the South Sea Bubble and the Greatest Financial Scandal in History

A history of the South Sea Bubble of the 1720s, reputed as the world's first great financial scandal, notes the machinations of its mastermind, an unscrupulous Englishman who sold shares in a valueless company and nearly bankrupted an entire country. Originally published as The Secret History of the South Sea Bubble. Reprint.