The dot-com downturn is no surprise to business historians. They've seen it all before. The average company is dangerously near bankruptcy.
New competitors spring up almost daily, often sparking suicidal price wars.
Others quit, appropriating whatever property they can take with them as they leave. It is the late 1840s, and the emerging U.S. telegraph industry is in shambles. Managers with scant executive experience squander much of the money invested by eager funders. Exciting new technology. Dreams of glory, wealth and fame.