When Washington Shut Down Wall Street: The Great Financial Crisis of 1914 and the Origins of America’s Monetary Supremacy

Professor, author and prominent economic advisor Silber chronicles an era when the U.S.’s reliance on the gold standard was leading it head-on into its first major financial crisis. The outbreak of WWI in 1914 yielded the biggest gold outflow in a generation, jeopardizing America’s reputation with creditor nations and sending the world market value of the dollar into a tailspin. Enter Treasury Secretary William McAdoo, … [ Read more ]

Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises

Manias, Panics, and Crashes is a scholarly but highly readable trip through the history of financial crises from the Mississippi and South-Sea bubbles to the June, 1974, failures of the Herstatt Bank of Cologne and the Franklin Bank of New York. Kindleberger’s goal is to illustrate the causes and consequences of mania (a bubble in asset prices driven by an irrational excitement about business possibilities), … [ Read more ]

The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism

Despite its inflated title, this volume is a worthy jeremiad against corporate excess, especially the kind hastened by the mutual fund industry that Bogle, former CEO of low-cost Vanguard, knows well. Among the problems: inflated executive compensation and creative accounting that allows companies to claim profits even when they’re in the red. Mutual fund companies, Bogle charges, care more about short-term results than long-term value, … [ Read more ]

Ponzi’s Scheme: The True Story of a Financial Legend

Before Charles Ponzi (1882-1949) sailed from Italy to the shores of America in 1903, his father assured him that the streets were really paved with gold – and that Ponzi would be able to get a piece. As journalist Zuckoff observes in this engaging and fast-paced biography, Ponzi learned as soon as he disembarked that though the streets were often cobblestone, he could still make … [ Read more ]

The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance

The story of the Morgan family and its banking empire is the story of the most powerful class of financiers ever. In the 19th century, gentleman bankers such as John Pierpont Sr. were austere aristocrats who did business with only the most powerful corporations and individuals, enjoying monopolistic control of the nation’s wealth. Though the legacy persists, these days the family will give a handshake … [ Read more ]