Wall Street: A History

by Charles R. Geisst

Book Overview

Wall Street is the stuff of legend and a source of nightmares, a force so powerful in American society--and, indeed, in world economics and culture--that it has become an almost universal symbol of both the highest aspirations of commercial success and the basest impulses of greed and deception. How did such a small, concentrated pocket of lower Manhattan came to have such enormous influence in national and world affairs. In this wide-ranging volume,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195115120
• ISBN13: 9780195115123
• Release Date: September 1997
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Great!

This is really a great book. And I check the seller's website. More surprises over there! Go to check it out, buddies!

Comprehensive book on the history of Wall Street

This comprehensive book provides a wealth of detail about the origins and history of the financial institutions, private and public, that underpin Wall Street and the economy of the United States - and therefore, to an extent, much of the rest of the world. Author Charles R. Geisst presents a detailed discussion of the contest between the forces of libertarianism and regulation. Detail is both the strength and the weakness of this book. Often, the author has trouble organizing it all, and the book would have benefited from a stricter editor to help distill the "story" in this history. Despite such problems, however, the factual basis is rich and intriguing. We believe that readers interested in U.S. financial history, especially those in the investment and financial services industries, will want to read this book.

Would you believe it all started under a tree?

Traders met under a tree in the beginning to trade securities, that's about it. Later, the securities were being traded on the "curb", then indoors, and eventually it became the global market that we know today. You will learn about the progress of the market, the booms, the busts, the market "breaks" and the recessions and depressions that followed.This book is a complete history of investing in the US: Interested in the history of trading? Interested in the history of corporate debt (short-term securities, bonds, etc.)? Interested in how the US was funded to become the World power it is today? Interested in issues like program trading and market volatility? This book discusses all of these and many more, including the people, thinking, and developments that have made the market what it is today.

A very good financial history Book

This book gives good insight about the history of the most famous street in america. A must have book for any business person or student

Probably the best on the topic

I have been reading books by Geisst since I was an undergraduate at Syracuse. Unlike many other authors writing about the topic, he is the only one I know who knows finance inside out. Many writers on American history know little about the market & Wall Street. I read other books and find no mention of primary markets, only the stock exchanges.In this book, he tracks both and correctly so. That alone shows the comprehensiveness of his approach. This is a great history of Wall Street by a finance person. In the early 1980's I used a book of his as an undergradutae text. Now I find a history book. Not many other authors can claim that breath. This is a must.