The bubbles that built America

These six bubbles - from the telegraph to the real-estate boom - show how Americans end up better off after a bubble, says the author of "Pop! Why bubbles are great for the economy" (Harper Collins).

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble
Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble
The cycle of over-the-top hype, vicious competition, bankruptcies and consolidation that characterized the late-90s dot-com boom and this decade's real estate market could be the key to America's economic success.

Daniel Gross is the author of "Pop! Why bubbles are great for the economy" (Harper Collins).

The telegraph

The railroad

The 1920s

The Internet

Real estate

Alternative energy

POP
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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.