A few years ago, Robert Bruner and Sean Carr, two American academ- ics at a Virginia business school, decided to write a comprehensive study of a financial market crash that took place on Wall Street back in 1907.
In normal, calmer times, their worthy opus might have attracted only limited attention. After all, the 1907 turmoil has never carried the fame of 1929. But in a happy burst of brilliant timing - and sheer luck - their work is due to be published this autumn, and the two authors are unexpectedly finding their insights in hot demand from the financial world. "We had no expectation that a crisis would sprout this summer," admits Professor Bruner. "[But] our re-search taught us that the drivers of crisis are always present [so] we thought the lessons of 1907 would be immensely relevant to investors, CEOs and regulators."
