Wall Street: A History

by Charles R. Geisst

Overview

Wall Street is is a universal symbol of both the highest aspirations of economic prosperity and the basest impulses of greed and deception. Charles R. Geisst's Wall Street is a chronicle of the street itself-from the days when the wall was merely a defensive barricade built by Peter Stuyvesant to the latest highs and lows. It is also an engaging economic history of the United States, a tale of profits and losses, enterprising spirits, and key figures that transformed America into the most powerful economy in the world. The book traces many themes, like the move of industry and business westward in the early 19th century, the rise of the great Robber Barons, the growth of industry from the securities market's innovative financing of railroads, and Bell's and Edison's technical innovations. And because "The Street" has always been a breeding ground for outlandish characters, no history of the stock market would be complete without a look at the conniving of ruthless wheeler-dealers and lesser known but influential rogues. This updated edition covers the slow recovery following the lowest points of the Great Recession and the tensions of regulation. Geisst illustrates the cyclical nature of Wall Street as recent crises are strikingly reminiscent of past economic failings. As Wall Street and America have changed irrevocably after the crisis, Charles R. Geisst offers the definitive chronicle of the relationship between the two, and the challenges and successes it has fostered that have shaped our history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190613563
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	06/12/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	608
Sales rank:	865,906
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Charles R. Geisst is Ambassador Charles A. Gargano Professor of Finance at Manhattan College and a former investment banker. He is the author of 19 other books, including most recently Loan Sharks: The Birth of Predatory Lending.

Table of Contents

Preface Introduction 1. The Early Years (1790-1840) 2. The Railroad and Civil War Eras (1840-70) 3. The Robber Barons (1870-90) 4. The Age of the Trusts (1880-1910) 5. The Money Trust (1890-1920) 6. The Booming Twenties (1920-29) 7. Wall Street Meets the New Deal (1930-35) 8. The Struggle Continues (1936-54) 9. Bull Market (1954-69) 10. Bear Market (1970-81) 11. Mergermania (1982-97) 12. Running Out of Steam (1998-2003) 13. The Cataclysm (2004-2008) 14. The Great Recession (2009-2013) 15. Recovery, Tapers, and Tantrums (2014 - ) Notes Bibliography Index

Editorial Reviews

Geisst (Finance/Manhattan Coll.) attempts a comprehensive history of Wall Street. Unfortunately, this amorphous subject poses problems that are not overcome.

"Wall Street" is an umbrella term for the financial community centered in New York City, not a single endeavor located at a specific address. Given the role of private investment in a capitalist economic system, it is also inextricably linked to government finance, all sectors of the domestic economy, and economic activity worldwide. This makes Wall Street difficult to define, let alone document over time, but Geisst nevertheless plunges forward with a general survey. The result is an account that remains on the surface yet will often be inaccessible to those without some knowledge of the market; this compendium of information lacks any framework to guide the reader through events. To make matters worse, the broader political environment is sometimes misrepresented: How can one characterize the Smoot-Hawley tariffs of the 1930s as "the very opposite of Republican [Party] principles" when Republicans had championed protective tariffs for the preceding 60 years? The most disconcerting quality of this volume, however, is a function of Geisst's effort to combine honest description with a proWall Street perspective. For example, President Truman's suspicions "that financiers had been conspiring to rig the underwriting business in their own favor" are characterized as his "bias against Wall Street," despite Geisst's extensive accounts of financiers doing precisely what Truman suspected. Even stranger is the assertion that the dismissal of a government case alleging collusion on Wall Street proved that investment bankers are "vital to the economy"; vital they may be, but drawing this conclusion here is certainly a non sequitur.

A history of Wall Street educating the general public about this important and often confusing institution is a worthy goal—and one not yet achieved.

Kirkus Reviews

Praise for the first edition:
"A thorough retelling of a critical—though often overlooked—aspect of U.S. history."—The Wall Street Journal

"A quick-reading history of the United States as told through the doings of bankers and brokers."—The Washington Post

"Geisst has produced a sweeping history of Wall Street, from its inception as an outdoor market to its current status of global financial center.... This lively narrative is a good survey of American economic history that puts Wall Street at the forefront."—History

"An important and entertaining commentary for anyone interested in understanding the role of Wall Street in the development of the U.S. into an economic superpower."—James R. Barth, Lowder Eminent Scholar in Finance, Auburn University

From the Publisher