1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History by Andrew Ross Sorkin

Andrew Ross Sorkin’s 1929 is not an economics textbook, it's a gripping, character-driven account of the most pivotal financial collapse in modern history. Sorkin, the bestselling author of Too Big to Fail, spent eight years in diaries, Federal Reserve board minutes, and previously unpublished documents. The result makes history feel immediate and uncomfortably familiar. Sorkin's research is remarkably detailed, drawing on private accounts from Presidents Coolidge and Hoover among many others.

The cast is extraordinary. Banker Charles Mitchell of National City Bank — nicknamed ‘Sunshine Charlie’ — became a household name during the bull market, drawing tourist crowds just to glimpse him. Short seller Jesse Livermore told the New York Times that stocks were at “ridiculously high prices” and was dismissed entirely. By the end of October 1929, Livermore had made $100 million (but had lost it all by the time he committed suicide). The pattern of insiders inflating stocks, regulatory lag, easy credit fuelling asset bubbles, and warning signs deliberately ignored is not ancient history — it is human nature, recurring across every cycle.

Winston Churchill was in New York attending a dinner party of the city's most prominent executives as the market collapsed — a small detail that somehow captures the entire moment. That the same man would go on to lead Britain through its darkest chapter makes the scene all the more striking.

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For investors especially, the parallels to today are both fascinating and sobering. 1929 is essential reading for anyone who believes the next crisis will look different from the last.

“This is not just a story about money. 1929 is a tale of power, psychology, and the seductive illusion that this time is different.” — Andrew Ross Sorkin

‍Link to Book

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