Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Asia's economic growth astonished the world. The region's stock markets soared to new heights, unprecedented economic growth rates were recorded and an acquisitive new middle class emerged. Then overnight, it all fell apart. The question now being asked is: Who brought the party to an end?"--BOOK JACKET. "In this penetrating and thoughtful account, Philippe Delhaise points the finger squarely at Asia's antiquated banking and financial systems. Everything else - the currency panics, the social and political shocks - is simply a stream of consequences flowing from the main source. What is exceptional about the crisis is not that it happened but the manner in which it came about, inflicting indiscriminate devastation to all.