1929 : inside the greatest crash in Wall Street history--and how it shattered a nation / Andrew Ross Sorkin.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"It is one of the best narrative histories I've read."
-- The Wall Street Journal

A New York Times Notable Book of 2025 * One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2025 * Named a BEST BOOK OF 2025 by The Washington Post , TIME , The Economist , Air Mail , Bloomberg , Fast Company , Katie Couric Media, and History

From the bestselling author of Too Big to Fail , "the definitive history of the 2008 banking crisis," ( The Atlantic ) comes a riveting narrative of the most infamous stock market crash in history--one with ripple effects that still shape our society today.

In 1929 , the world watched in shock as the unstoppable Wall Street bull market went into a freefall, wiping out fortunes and igniting a depression that would reshape a generation. But behind the flashing ticker tapes and panicked traders, another drama unfolded--one of visionaries and fraudsters, titans and dreamers, euphoria and ruin.

With unparalleled access to historical records and newly uncovered documents, New York Times bestselling author Andrew Ross Sorkin takes readers inside the chaos of the crash, behind the scenes of a raging battle between Wall Street and Washington and the larger-than-life characters whose ambition and naïveté in an endless boom led to disaster. The dizzying highs and brutal lows of this era eerily mirror today's world--where markets soar, political tensions mount, and the fight over financial influence plays out once again.

This is not just a story about money. 1929 is a tale of power, psychology, and the seductive illusion that this time is different. It's about disregarded alarm bells, financiers who fell from grace, and skeptics who saw the crash coming--only to be dismissed until it was too late.

Hailed as a landmark book, Too Big to Fail reimagined how financial crises are told. Now, with 1929 , Sorkin delivers an immersive, electrifying account of the most pivotal market collapse of all time--with lessons that remain as urgent as ever. More than just a history, 1929 is a crucial blueprint for understanding the cycles of speculation, the forces that drive financial upheaval, and the warning signs we ignore at our peril.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Journalist Sorkin has written a vivid account of the events leading to the Great Stock Market Crash of 1929, which caused financial chaos, wiped out fortunes, and led to the Great Depression. He also covers the aftermath, Roosevelt's New Deal, and resulting financial reforms. Sorkin has meticulously researched the crash, drawing on archival material, depositions, letters, diaries, oral histories, and, most notably, the unpublished memoir of a Wall Street insider. The book offers vivid accounts and viewpoints on pivotal characters during this time in history, including J.P. Morgan and J.P. Morgan Jr., Richard Whitney, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Andrew Mellon, Senator Carter Glass (cosponsor of the Glass-Steagall Act), and Ferdinand Pecora (called "the Hell Hound of Wall Street"). The investigations and hearings on the crash led to reforms in the stock market, ultimately contributing to the establishment of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The book includes extensive bibliographic notes and references. VERDICT Sorkin's first book since the 2009 bestseller Too Big To Fail is a historical blueprint for understanding the past and present financial situations in the U.S. Highly recommended and essential reading.--Lucy Heckman

CHOICE Review

Sorkin, an award-winning writer for The New York Times and author of Too Big to Fail (CH, Apr'10, 47-4534), has written a detailed account of the stock market crash of 1929, which spawned the Great Depression. He pinpoints major issues with top New York City bank managers, such as Charles Mitchell and Thomas Lamont, finding them guilty of overprotecting market stock values and underestimating another market crash leading to historic bank runs. Additionally, in the 1920s insider trading was much less tightly controlled than it is today. In the years leading up to the crash, Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge preferred a laissez-faire approach to the economy, which allowed New York speculators relatively free rein to peddle abysmally false claims of potential profits to middle America. Sorkin shows how Herbert Hoover was reluctant to intervene during the crucial 1929--32 period, leaving it to new president Franklin Delano Roosevelt to close the banks for a 10-day holiday in 1933 and begin the New Deal legislation that would crucially spur employment in the severely depressed country. This is a thorough and serious account of the greatest economic collapse in the 250-year history of the US. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers and undergraduates. --Andrew Mark Mayer, emeritus, College of Staten Island/CUNY

Kirkus Book Review

An affluent age abruptly ends. Sorkin's chronicle of economic calamity is well-versed in the language of high finance and laser-focused on the rich and influential. Bankers and lawmakers share the limelight with actors and statesmen seeking Wall Street wealth. The countless unsung Americans wrecked by the October 1929 stock market crash and its aftermath are seldom heard from. This may frustrate some readers, but it's not an oversight, as Sorkin unapologetically--and not unreasonably--opts to concentrate on power players. As theNew York Times columnist and CNBC host explains, the "bloodbath" was triggered by chicanery, "easy credit" and the market's "general opacity." During the run-up to the crash, bankers and affluent investors formed "stock pools." These were a legal but "devious and unfair" way to furtively accumulate "shares in a given company," "artificially" raising the stock's value. Some market speculators tried to boost profits by "luring small-time speculators into" their "elaborate market schemes." By the early 1930s, thousands of banks had failed, leaving many millions unemployed, homeless, or hungry. It's a feature, not a bug, that this large group of people remains in the background. Sorkin announces this narrative choice at the outset, presenting a cast list dominated by bankers, politicians, regulators, and other well-connected sorts--those whose fingerprints were on the collapse. His leading figures are prominent men whom history has rendered one-dimensional, verdicts Sorkin aims to reveal as incomplete. Banker Charles Mitchell's maneuvering got him in legal trouble and was blamed for the crash, but Sorkin suggests he merits "more nuanced consideration." Senator Carter Glass was celebrated for 1933 legislation that protected less-wealthy bank customers by disentangling commercial and investment banking. But he only grudgingly OK'd "key elements of his own bill." For their part, Groucho Marx and Winston Churchill took a bath when the crash came. It's a narrow segment of society but one whose experiences Sorkin capably recounts. A nimble history of the stock market's collapse centers on the upper crust. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.