I have just started reading Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. The aim of the book is to explain why some nations are successful and why others fail. The thesis of the book is that institutions matter for economic development, whilst geography and culture play a somewhat limited role. The book's website and associated blog can be found here. The video below is a short talk given by Acemoglu at the Cato Institute about Why Nations Fail.
My colleague and former PhD student Gareth Campbell has created a website about the British Railway Mania - click here . This episode has been described by the Economist as probably the greatest bubble in human history. Gareth's website provides background on the Mania and posits some explanations for the 'bubble'. In his explanation of why the bubble happened, Gareth places a lot of emphasis on investor myopia regarding future dividends and uncalled capital. His study of investors during the episode does not support the view that this episode was fuelled by naive and irrational investors.