With overleveraged Banks and no-money-down mortgages still fresh in the mind after the global financial crisis, Minsky's insight might sound obvious.

Words such as "toxic assets", "double-dip" and "overleveraged" (having borrowed too much money and being unable to pay it back) have all entered the book.

Then there was wide fear of world recession after the Asian currency crisis, the Russian default and the rescue of Long-Term Capital Management, an overleveraged hedge fund.