The Day the Bubble Burst: A Social History of the Wall Street Crash of 1929

The Wall Street Crash of 1929 was the most climactic financial disaster in history. It still affects all our lives today. Periodically, when the market declines, the question is asked whether history will repeat itself. For a decade or more those warning of a likely repetition have been ably led by Professor Kenneth Galbraith, whose own book on the economic background to the Crash has become a standard work of reference. The other doyen of American economics, Professor Milton Friendman, sees monetarism as our financial salvation. Both agree that 1929 Crash was a financial turning point. Prior to that, the business of money was held to b e the prerogative of businessmen. The Crash showed how widely that prerogative had been dispersed. The Crash affected everyone; it was the precursor to the Depression; as such it was not only a financial collapse but a human, family tragedy. In a way it was worse than war. One of those hurt explained: "In war, Dad goes off, a hero. But soon after the Crash, Dad was always at home. Nagging doubts were raised: wasn't he smart enough to get a job? Was he really trying to get work? Doubts about Dad as a person grew and remain to this day.