1929 Inside the greatest crash in Wall Street history-- and how it shattered a nation

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the crash, drawing on archival material, depositions, letters, diaries, oral histories, and, most notably, the unpublished memoir of a Wall Street insider.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

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.