As a student of markets, I believe history is a roadmap for the future. The past may not repeat, but it certainly tends to rhyme. So when I came across “A History of the United States in Five Crashes” by Scott Nation, I was hooked. Beyond a simple recounting of events, the book weaves in regulatory missteps, economic forces, and even investor behaviors that turned boom into bust. The five covered crashes — in 1907, 1929, 1987, 2008 and 2010 — offer insight into how markets unravel and, more importantly, how investors’ behavior and discipline can hurt or help.

Nation suggests five principles stemming from these market crashes. Let’s examine each.

The first principle is simple: Beware of shiny new financial innovations; they often hide risks that fuel downturns. Nation’s central thesis is

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