The Great Crash 1929

Informative read with a sharp turn of phrase. At times, too detailed for me as a general reader, though it was easy to skip paragraphs with long lists of changes in share prices. Galbraith was convinced that there was no automatic link between the crash of 1929 and the depression of the 1930s. I re-read this section twice, but still failed to grasp why he believed this. That may say more about me than him. However, the decade of austerity which the UK has endured after the last economic collapse, will have left the general public even more convinced of the link. This edition has a prologue written by JK’s son, James K, written at the start of the recent recession. It is much better read as an epilogue and is the worst possible place for a general reader to begin to tackle this book.

Those expecting both a factual account of this great financial happening together with an indication on the likelihood of a recurrence of the misfortunes of 1929 will be a little disappointed. The author states specifically that this is an economic history work dealing with not much more than what actually happened and is not intended to predict whether or when a similar fiscal collapse will happen in the future.With the benefit of hindsight, we now know that, with slightly different circumstances but with very similar underlying weaknesses in the system of regulation, that such major upheavals in the financial system will occur from time to time, witness the 2008 Credit Crunch. The precursor and 'flashing red lights' is a period of rapidly increasing prices whether it be Stocks, Shares, Commodities or Property accompanied by lack of fiscal regulation, people believing that nothing can stop the rising values, and that ever present 'switcher-off' of commonsense, Greed.Mr Galbraith narrates an interesting and I assume accurate history of the meltdown on Wall Street and beyond in around 1928, which is very easy to read and become engrossed in the careering of the money truck down the steep decline, knowing that it will splatter in all directions eventually.The Author is very gentle and it might be said a little over generous in absolving any major responsibility for the debacle from just about all Bankers, Stockbrokers, Politicians, Economists, Investment Advisers, Regulators, and, of course the poor all punters themselves. Beyond these parties it is difficult to drum up others that might have shared responsibility. I found his generosity in this regard a little disconcerting in that it does not offer a constructive guide to avoiding a repeat, as has been the case.Perhaps the wisdom of Nassim Nicholas Taleb might explain the lemming like tendency that occurred in 1928 when he mused "It has been more profitable for us to bind together in the wrong direction than to be alone in the right one."A very competent and engrossing work of Economic History but with little attempt to advising how to spot and stop a reoccurrence such as the 1980's S & L financial disaster and the 2008 Credit Crunch Tsunami which cost taxpayers $Trillions.

Was looking for an economic analysis but this book is nothing of the sort. It essential goes on and on about how investors rushed to invest, and gives a good idea of the rush to buy and sell at the time, but it talks very little of the actual economic causes and consequences caused by the crash. It is more a narrative than anything else. The pages are small and the words are big tho so you can get it out of the way quite quickly if you do buy it. Disappointingg considering Galbraith is himself an economist.

Superb account of the 1929 Crash. Very readable and sometimes hard to put down. Well balanced description of some very complex issues. The fact that some of these issues were beyond my understanding didn't detract from my enjoyment. Highly recommended.

In my opinion this is one of the best books written about economics. It explains why the Great Crash of '29 happened. It also predicted that the same thing will happen again in 2008/9 and why it will no doubt happen again. It also shows how economists, politicians and the general public failto learn from past mistakes and keep on repeating the same errors. it is the best antidote to political and economic hubris that I have ever read. It should be compulsory reading for every school student.

This is an excellent read - goes along at a good pace and is never boring. Here's a couple of quotes:"The singular feature of the great crash of 1929 was that the worst continued to worsen. What looked like one day to be the end proved on the next day to have been only the beginning." (p130)"Nothing is so voracious as a losing business" (p179)"During a future speculative boom, the status quo will cause men who know that things are going quite wrong to say that things are fundamentally sound"

I picked this up for research and found it an excellent summary of the events before during and after the Wall Street Crash. While it did not have the granular information I needed for share prices, the details of the aftermath of the crash, the scams and schemes it exposed, and the results of the financial disaster more than made up for it. It is not as dry as many of the comparable sources, with a few laugh-out-loud moments and a lot of sly wit. Overall this is a very good, entertaining, and informative, read.

Not that easy to read and a little bit hard in some areas (not a novel shall we say). BUT very relevant for 2009. Read it and be astonished at just how little we have learned (or perhaps how much we have forgotten).I will not be surprised if this book isn't a "Nostradamus" for events that will happen in 2010 onwards.It all sounds so very familiar. We have been here before people - read this book and you will see why and how.