Comments on: Book Review: Devil Take the Hindmost

By: How do you say “bubble” in Chinese? | Canadian Capitalist

How do you say “bubble” in Chinese? | Canadian Capitalist — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:33:14 +0000

[...] book on past financial manias called Devil Take the Hindmost: A History of Financial Speculation (my review is available here), believes that investors will be grappling in the future with the bursting of a bubble, this time [...]

By: Tony Danza

Tony Danza — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:47:43 +0000

I would have thought the phrase “Devil take the hindmost” would equate to the Greater Fool theory.

james, I beg to differ, it can be incredibly difficult if not impossible to tell when you’re in a bubble. Is oil in a bubble right now, gold, Saskatchewan real estate, art, agriculture? You can find many intelligent and very wealthy individuals who are staking their reputations and money on both sides of the aforementioned.

By: james

james — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:00:46 +0000

I think people are more or less aware when they are in a bubble, but they tend to think that they won’t be the last fools in the line and someone else is going to buy their stocks/houses when they are ready to sell.

By: Canadian Capitalist

Canadian Capitalist — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:09:31 +0000

Mike, Michael, David: I have to confess that I hadn’t heard that expression before but it is definitely an apt title for a book about bubbles.

By: David

David — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:50:15 +0000

A quick search for the term indicates it origins in the early 1600′s, and is described as follows:
‘Let the devil take the hindmost’ may well be said when someone doesn’t care too much about the consequence of his actions, as long as he comes out well from the affair. The saying comes from late medieval magic. The Devil was supposed to have a school at either Toledo or Salamanca in Spain. The students, at a certain stage of their training, had to run through a subterranean hall. The last one through was seized by the Devil and became his Imp.

In the case of market bubbles, it might refer to those who quietly exit early, without concern for those just entering that market. Thus the sale of (soon to be worthless) shares to the unsuspecting entrant to that market, fits the above description quite well.

Dear ol’ dad oft quoted a similarly fitting expression, when reflecting on some individual’s behaviour & attitudes: “I’m all right, Jack, to h3ll with you”. However, it probably wouldn’t make as good a book title.

DAvid

By: Michael James

Michael James — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:16:23 +0000

Perhaps the book’s title refers to the fact that the very last people who jump into an investment bubble are harmed the most.

By: Four Pillars

Four Pillars — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:57:41 +0000

I’ll have to check this one out.

I assume the phrase refers to the fact that if you are a crowd-follower then you might end up in the back of the line (ie you line because everyone is lining up) where apparently you are more susceptible to the devil?

This of course would be assuming that the devil is an orderly type and always starts at the back of the line…