The best books on the Wall Street Crash of 1929

At the height of the roaring '20s, Swedish emigre Ivar Kreuger made a fortune raising money in America and loaning it to Europe in exchange for matchstick monopolies. His enterprise was a rare success story throughout the Great Depression. Yet after his suicide in 1932, it became clear that Kreuger was not all he seemed: evidence surfaced of fudged accounting figures, off-balance-sheet accounting, even forgery. He created a raft of innovative financial products-- many of them precursors to instruments wreaking havoc in today's markets. In this gripping financial biography, Frank Partnoy recasts the life story of a remarkable yet forgotten genius in ways that force us to re-think our ideas about the wisdom of crowds, the invisible hand, and the free and unfettered market.

Recently described as "the single most important lawmaker in the history of American finance," Carter Glass nonetheless remains a much misunderstood and overlooked figure. Glass was a small-government conservative and vocal racist who nevertheless was responsible for some of the most important progressive pieces of financial legislation in U.S. history, including the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, which created mechanisms for addressing financial panics and managing the nation’s currency, the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, which separated banks and securities firms, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which created the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the model New Deal agency. The book explains how these apparent contradictions emerged together at a pivotal moment in the modern American era.

Recently described as "the single most important lawmaker in the history of American finance," Carter Glass nonetheless remains a much misunderstood and overlooked figure. Glass was a small-government conservative and vocal racist who nevertheless was responsible for some of the most important progressive pieces of financial legislation in U.S. history, including the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, which created mechanisms for addressing financial panics and managing the nation’s currency, the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, which separated banks and securities firms, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which created the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the model New Deal agency. The book explains how these apparent contradictions emerged together at a pivotal moment in the modern American era.

On a desperately overcrowded future Earth, crippled by climate change, the most unlikely hope is better than none. Governments turn to Big Science to provide them with the dreams that will keep the masses compliant. The Needle is one such dream, an installation where the most abstruse theoretical science is being tested: science that might make human travel to a habitable exoplanet distantly feasible.

When the Needle’s director offers her underground compound as a training base, Kir is thrilled to be invited to join the team, even though she knows it’s only because her brain is host to a quantum artificial intelligence called Altair. But Altair knows something he can’t tell. Kir, like all humans, is programmed to ignore future dangers. Between the artificial blocks in his mind, and the blocks evolution has built into his host, how is he going to convince her the sky is falling?

Recently described as "the single most important lawmaker in the history of American finance," Carter Glass nonetheless remains a much misunderstood and overlooked figure. Glass was a small-government conservative and vocal racist who nevertheless was responsible for some of the most important progressive pieces of financial legislation in U.S. history, including the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, which created mechanisms for addressing financial panics and managing the nation’s currency, the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, which separated banks and securities firms, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which created the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the model New Deal agency. The book explains how these apparent contradictions emerged together at a pivotal moment in the modern American era.

Teeny, Sonny Boy, and Vic have been swallowed up by the desperation and devastation of the Great Depression, but the trio is buoyed by the fantastical tales Teeny weaves around campfires in hobo jungles and migrant camps, including the story of the raffle baby. As the three navigate the ravages of poverty and prejudices, they form a family bond as strong as the forces against them. But when a solemn pact fails to protect them, their lives are forever changed. And Sonny Boy is left to tell their story, and his own.

Both heartbreaking and uplifting, The Raffle Baby examines the intersection of love, loss, and resilience, and the enduring triumph of memory. This is a magical tale not soon forgotten.

The undertow of the Great Depression becomes poignantly personal as we experience the travails of Leora and Clabe Wilson, a displaced Iowa farm family living in a small town, trying to make ends meet. Gritty determination fuels this family’s journey of loss and hope, a reflection of what many American families endured during those challenging times.

In this true story, the Wilsons slowly slide into unemployment and poverty. Leora must find ways to keep her dreams alive while making a haven for her flock of seven children in one run-down house after another.

In 1915, young Rachel Williams meets two friends aboard the Lusitania, Fred Johnson a hotelier, and his friend German immigrant Rudy Holtzmann. They all survive the sinking and two years later, they meet at a fundraiser when America enters the war. On separate occasions, they each ask her to marry them, which puts her in a dilemma. On the advice of her great-aunt, she chooses one of them. Her life changes as her decision affects family, friends, strangers, including world history as the devastating consequences of her decision are unleashed for the next thirty years. At the end, Rachel wonders if she made the right decision or not based on how it affected everyone.

Why do forecasters get it wrong so often? This book explores forecasting pitfalls drawing on everyday activities, such as a motorist planning when she needs to set off on her journey to arrive on time. The book requires no maths or technical knowledge, but richly rewards the inquisitive reader with many deep and penetrating insights.