Andrew Ross Sorkin – 1929 (2025)
"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 the New 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.” "
~ kirkusreviews.com and
KOBO.com