Introduction

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Illustrations vii
4. Acknowledgments ix
5. Introduction 1
6. Part I. Gambling and speculation
7. Chapter 1. Gambling and speculation: entertaining contingency? 19
8. Chapter 2. The normalization of “wild contingency”: stabilizing the distinction between gambling and speculation 43
9. Part II. Crowds
10. Introduction 95
11. Chapter 3. Charles Mackay: the spectacle of equality 98
12. Chapter 4. Speculative vistas: crowds and speculation in the united states during the nineteenth century 110
13. Chapter 5. Alone against the crowd: the communicative techniques of the contrarians 146
14. Chapter 6. The eroticism of the market and the gender of speculation 171
15. Part III. Media
16. Chapter 7. The rhythm of the market 197
17. Epilogue 237
18. Notes 243
19. References 271
20. Index 291