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1929

Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History--and How It Shattered a Nation

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1929

Written by: Andrew Ross Sorkin
Narrated by: Andrew Ross Sorkin
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Buy Now for $34.40

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#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. Americas Banks & Banking Economics United States Wall Street Banking Emotionally Gripping Stock Taxation Socialism Capitalism
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So much useless information us d as filler. Didn’t get to what I was interested in till 3/4 the way through

Not what I expected

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Great character development as well as coverage of the events. Useful for investors as well as those looking for entertainment

Great immersive guide through the depression

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The first part, leading up to the 1929 crash, is drama-filled, following a cast of greedy bankers, reckless financiers, shady traders, stock market gamblers, and feckless politicians.

When the bubble burst, it took the over-leveraged banks with it, not just in America, but across Europe as well, destroying fortunes and confidence in the economy and the government.

The fallout from the market crash is less coherent, and makes a less interesting story. The details of Charles Mitchell’s tax evasion trial, for example, are a snooze.

Sorkin does a poor job of explaining how and why the Depression happened. Something about how a weak, under-regulated and over-leveraged banking system was pushed over the edge by credit failures.

It is a demoralizing story, with obvious lessons for today’s tech-driven market bubble.

For context, US$ amounts quoted in 1928 need to be converted by a factor of almost 20 to contemporary values.

A narrative history of the 1929 US stock market crash and the fallout.

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Excellent research, excellent storytelling, excellent narration. If you wanted to know about the central characters involved in the maelstrom of the 1929 crash - then this is your book.

Simply Superb

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I learned much about who was there, what they did, how they did it.... and I suppose most importantly, I was able to infer with reasonable confidence as to why they did what they did. Ultimately, it seems to me that this crash was caused by the usual human character deficiencies and compounded by a lack of understanding of those deficiencies, otherwise, the appropriate guardrails would have been in place. Despite the lessons we continue to plough forward into yet another potentially disastrous outcome here and now. It's not the people, it's the system and the math associated with the system.

Thorough exposure of the people who were there

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