Rainbow's End

In this addition to the "Pivotal Moments in American History" series, a narrative historian recreates the Wall Street Crash of 1929 - a perfect storm of economic forces leading to disaster.

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Few single events have affected business and society in the US as profoundly and in such a short time as the Wall Street crash of 1929. In this book, the author puts into perspective the many conflicting theories of what caused the crash, what role speculation did or did not play, whether or not it could have been avoided, and what role it played in bringing on the Depression. The book explores the decade before the crash, outlining the heady years of the bull market and describing an era of unprecedented technological development, optimism and expanding wealth. The decade saw the burgeoning of a mass society and a popular culture driven by media and advertising, and a free market marked by unregulated banking and credit systems and get-rich-quick schemes. Maury Klein argues that the stock market crash marked a turning point in American history, where the failure of self-regulating individualism led to an overhaul of the financial system and much more government regulation. It threw into question the beliefs in the American dream spawned by the 20s and preceded a period of deep Depression, not only economically but in regard to the most fundamental American values.
The book draws on a variety of people, developments and events to illuminate these themes: Jack Morgan, Richard Whitney, Joseph Kennedy, Charles Mitchell, Herbert Hoover, John J. Raskob and Alexander J. Noyes.