Synopses & Reviews
Wall Street: no other place on earth is so singularly identified with money and the power of money. And no other American institution has inspired such deep moral, cultural, and political ambivalence. Is the Street an unbreachable bulwark defending commercial order? Or is it a center of mad ambition?
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This book recounts the colorful history of Americaand#8217;s love-hate relationship with Wall Street. Steve Fraser frames his fascinating analysis around the roles of four iconic Wall Street typesand#151;the aristocrat, the confidence man, the hero, and the immoralistand#151;all recurring figures who yield surprising insights about how the nation has wrestled, and still wrestles, with fundamental questions of wealth and work, democracy and elitism, greed and salvation. Spanning the years from the first Wall Street panic of 1792 to the dot.com bubble-and-bust and Enron scandals of our own time, the book is full of stories and portraits of such larger-than-life figures as J. P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Michael Milken. Fraser considers the conflicting attitudes of ordinary Americans toward the Street and concludes with a brief rumination on the recent notion of Wall Street as a haven for Everyman.
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Review
"I don't know of a better book about Wall Street's hold on the American imagination. Were it to be listed as a stock on the New York exchange, I'd bet on the quadrupling of its price in the first day's trading."and#8212;Lewis Lapham
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"In his delightfully written, sweeping history Wall Street, [Fraser] shows how . . . citizens react to the ups and downs of the business cycles and the towering figures who dominated each era."and#8212;David D'Alessandro, Toronto Globe and Mail
Review
and#8220;In thisandnbsp;age of agitated amnesiacs,andnbsp;Americans have forgotten that nothing is new and#8211; thatandnbsp;in other times money and power were forged intoandnbsp;a conspiracy against the public. Steve Fraser connects vividly to that past, reminding usandnbsp;thatandnbsp;this present financial crisis is not the first time our hearts have been broken byandnbsp;Wall Street peddlers of the American Dream.and#8221; and#8211; Bill Moyersandnbsp;
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"Fraser is almost lyrical as he weaves together his tale of how the image of Wall Street fits into American culture and mythology. . . . His book is . . . recommended for larger business collections in both public and academic libraries."and#8212;Library Journal
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"This book is written with Fraserand#8217;s customary panache and scrupulous attention to detail. If youand#8217;re after a fascinating take on one of our ultimate icons, this is it.and#8221;and#8212;Mike Wallace, John Jay College (CUNY), co-author of
Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 Review
"Provides a rich historical context from which to reflect on the purpose and morality of our financial markets."and#8212;Robert Shiller, author of Irrational Exuberance
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"Fraser . . . reviews the complictaed love-hate relationship between Americans and the financial markets by using Wall Street as the symbol of money and its power. . . . This is an excellent book that traces the history of Wall Street through those who shaped it, for better or for worse."and#8212;Booklist
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"The history of American attitudes toward the financiers of Wall Street, as shown in newspapers, novels and prosecutions, is the subject of Fraser's book. It'sandnbsp; a remarkable tale, not just for the plain facts of what they did but also for the dramatic swings in their image. Were they heroes or con men, aristocrats or immoral scoundrels? It depended on the era, and to some extent on whether their successes seemed to be enriching the rest of us."and#8212;Floyd Norris, New York Times Book Review
Review
Click here to listen to an interview with the author on the Yale Press Podcast. New York Times Book Review
Review
"Wall Street is the fabled heart of American capitalism. And according to historian and author Steve Fraser, four metaphorical images are central to the Wall Street mystique: The Aristocrat, The Confidence Man, The Hero, and The Immoralist. In his delightfully written, sweeping history Wall Street, he shows how those four types have continually appeared and re-appeared throughout U.S. stock market and business history, as citizens react to the ups and downs of the business cycles and the towering figures who dominated each era."—David D'Alessandro, Toronto Globe & Mail http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/podcast/Addendum_Fraser.mp3
Review
"The history of American attitudes toward the financiers of Wall Street . . . [is] a remarkable tale. . . . Were they heroes or con men, aristocrats or immoral scoundrels?"—Floyd Norris, New York Times Book Review David D'Alessandro - Toronto Globe and Mail
Review
"Fraser is almost lyrical as he weaves together his tale of how the image of Wall Street fits into American culture and mythology."—Library Journal David D'Alessandro - Toronto Globe and Mail
Review
“Fraser is the foremost chronicler of the nation's love-hate, codependent relationship with Wall Street.”—Greg Burns,
Chicago Tribune
Library Journal
Review
“This interesting history . . . will appeal to anyone interested in financial history or the development of Wall Street. . . . Recommended. All collections.”—
Choice Greg Burns - Chicago Tribune
Synopsis
A brilliant and vivid examination of how the Street came to inhabit and convulse America's collective psyche. No one has written about this essential American story with more subtlety, power, and insight--Gary Gerstle, Vanderbilt University.
About the Author
Steve Fraser is an author, an editor, and a historian whose many publications include the award-winning books Labor Will Rule: Sidney Hillman and the Rise of American Labor and Every Man a Speculator: A History of Wall Street in American Life. He is senior lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania and cofounder of the American Empire Project, Metropolitan Books. He has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Nation, and the American Prospect.