Fortune Tellers

By Walter Friedman,

Book cover of Fortune Tellers: The Story of America's First Economic Forecasters

Book description

The period leading up to the Great Depression witnessed the rise of the economic forecasters, pioneers who sought to use the tools of science to predict the future, with the aim of profiting from their forecasts. This book chronicles the lives and careers of the men who defined this first…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Fortune Tellers as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This is a readable tale of the rise of economic forecasters in the USA during the boom years of the 1920s, and their demise after failing to forecast the `Great Crash of 1929’ and ensuing Great Depression. Roger Babson did forewarn of a crash, but also failed after wrongly repeatedly forecasting an imminent recovery in the early 1930s. It holds many relevant lessons for our turbulent times, emphasizing that the future is always highly uncertain.

From David's list on getting an insight into forecasting.

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