1929: The Year of the Great Crash

by William K. Klingaman

Captures the drama of the economic climate of 1929, against a backdrop of the world economic and social picture, from the collectivization of Russian peasants to American millworkers striking for the right to unionize

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Business

393 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book about a fascinating (though tragic) time in the history of the United States. Things were on the upswing after the Great War and the newest fad, besides bootleg hooch and the Charleston, was investing in the stock market. Although usually reserved for those in the upper echelon of income, stocks kept rising so swiftly that the guy next door started looking at maybe making a quick buck. People were buying on margin and call loans were in the billions of dollars. It couldn't last and it didn't. People lost everything they had, including their homes which they had mortgaged to buy stocks. And the Great Depression began.

The author tells the story of the great crash intermingled with the antics of the rich and famous who were dipping their toes in the market as well.....Groucho Marx, Mayor Jimmy Walker, Al Capone, etc. These anecdotes set the background of Roaring 20s and he melds them nicely with the seriousness of the financial situation in the US. which he purports was caused not only by President Herbert Hoover(who normally gets all the blame) but also by President Calvin Coolidge. Very well done history

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I expected more out of this book having read another book where the author went through another dark year and discussed what happened among the people (especially those people whose thoughts and behavior were able to leave a paper trial), and this book met those high expectations.  For better or worse, I do not have a great deal of personal interest in 1929 and the author's political worldview is likely to be one very different from me, but as he did in writing about the year after Pearl Harbor, the author did a good job here of allowing different people with different perspectives to speak for themselves, which then allows the reader to determine which information is most credible and whose perspectives are the ones that make the most sense.  Opinions from readers will differ on these matters, but to the author's credit he keeps the editorializing to a minimum and allows people in primary sources to speak their own opinions and judgments and to be shown through their own behavior, and that is commentary enough on the attitude of speculation and political grandstanding that made the year such a pivotal one in making World War II increasingly likely and increasingly ugly.  

This sizable work of 350 pages is divided into four parts and 20 chapters.  We begin with a prologue that views the crash of 1929 as a glimpse of hell, which is a bit dramatic.  Part One, titled "Vanity," covers the first seven chapters, beginning with election day in 1928 (1), and moving on the exploration of winter's bitterness (2), the dawn of a new year (3), speculation with other people's money (4), a discussion of people with their heads in the sand (5), the behavior of the Fed (6), and the spider in the center of the web (7).  After that the author looks at greed (II), with discussions about the perils of prosperity (8), the legacy of war (9), the business of politics (10), the twilight of the jazz age (11), and the attack from the left in Europe (12), as well as the thought that everybody ought to be rich (13).  After that the book turns to the destruction caused by the crash (III), with a look at how people who looked smart suddenly were shown to be dumb (14), the breaking of the financial storm (15), those dealing with the eye of the hurricane (16), the smashup of corporate wealth (17), and the aftermath of the crash (18).  Finally, the book concludes with the despair (IV) that followed the crash, including the financial abyss (19) as well as the death of dreams (20) that followed the financial meltdown.

There are some reasons why 1929 does not truly interest me as a reader.  For one, I find the intersection of politics and finance to be rather regrettable, especially since 1929 is often pitted in some sort of false dilemma between crony capitalism and socialism of some kind, both of which I hate.  Thankfully, there are at least a few people here who showed some sense, and there was definitely plenty of time that people had to get out of the market before the crash happened, as the boom had stopped months before the real crash happened.  Still, there are undoubtedly lessons that can be learned from this book and from the times that it happens to talk about.  Among the most important of these lessons is the insight that it is unwise to invest in anything that is based on inside information and that one cannot understand the logic of.  This book is full of poignant tales of loss, but a lot of that loss could have been avoided had people behaved in a responsible fashion and not bought the hype that the market can only go one way--up.  Also, widespread prosperity depends not only on healthy markets, but also healthy standards of living for ordinary people, and the failure of the 1920's (and 1990's) to provide this proved crucial in leading to financial disasters that we seem seldom to learn from.

[Lauren Hiebner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously the book 1929 is about the major economic event of the year, the stock market crash. Klingaman explains the causes and effects of the economic decline the the US and the eventual collapse of the stock market. He also tells of the lack of effort or ineffective actions of the Hoover Administration, Congress, and the Federal Reserve. Also included is the international situation of post WWI and pre WWII and the rise of fascism in Europe. Other world events are also included like economic problems in Egypt and India and their link to the world economy. What makes this economic story so interesting is that Klingaman weaves in and out individuals in politics, business, media, crime, and other areas that gives the story a human face. He tells of both winners and losers in the stock market and of the political and business leaders that were unable to avoid the crash. The cast of characters include: Calvin Coolidge, Al Smith, Herbert Hoover, Huey Long, and Franklin D. Roosevelt as political leaders; Businessmen such as William Durant who founded General Motors, Henry Ford, J. P. Morgan, Joseph Kennedy, John D. Rockefeller Jr.; media/arts people like the Marx Brothers, Irving Berlin, F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda, Ernest Hemingway, and European artists Milo and Dali; economists Charlie Mitchell, Owen Young, Barnard Baruch, Andrew Mellon; the Lindberg and Morrow families, and the gangster Al Capone and his gangster enemies. What all these have in common is their connection to the stock market in some way. So while millions suffered due to the great depression and the stock market crash, many of the wealthy simply became more aware of suffering in the country. Klingaman also includes the fear of communist infiltration of labor unions and the violence that ensued between labor the government and the newspapers that supported big business. This was a surprisingly interesting read.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing journey through the 1920s, especially 1928-29, as Wall Street crept closer to the crash. Then the repercussions after the crash. A few things I learned:

1 - The market crashed more than once, with many rallies and downturns throughout 1929. On October 24, Black Thursday, a major crash wiped out the small investors, and on October 29, Black Tuesday, the millionaires were wiped out. More mini-rallies and downturns continued through the next few years, but the depression had taken firm hold as the economy ground to a near halt.

2 - The whole world was affected, including Germany, which paved the way for Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor. He thought maybe Hitler could clean up their economic mess and say no to the impossible reparations payments to the Allies.

3 - Two of the most boring U.S. presidents ever are now clear in my mind -- Coolidge and Hoover. Now I know them as people... sort of.

4 - The Marx Brothers' family was an interesting read, and how Groucho was affected by his huge losses. Harpo took it in stride, but Groucho was, well, grouching! He was so depressed he sometimes refused his stage roles, necessitating a stand-in.

5 - Re. Huey P. Long and the Louisiana Legislature: "...the flimsy... accusation that he had tried to hire an assassin to murder one of his political opponents. Within seconds, the assembly chamber degenerated into an unseemly melee of angry, shouting bald-headed and potbellied men, as Huey's supporters and opponents punched and shoved one another and tried to grab the podium; paste pots and inkwells were flying everywhere." Ah, American politics at its best!

A most riveting read as the crash loomed. Recommended!

[Paul Lunger · Rating 3 out of 5]

William Klingaman's "1929: The Year of the Great Crash" is an interesting and at times tedious look at the events that would lead up to the worst stock market crash in history. The book itself begins with the set-up of things in 1928 at the end of the Coolidge administration where there were signs that something bad could happen. The election of Herbert Hoover in 1928 didn't do much to change the feel of things although rampant speculation in the market & overconfidence would be the undoing of everything in late 1929 & beyond. Through the various people and events both in the US & around the world, Klingaman guides of through those events that got us where we eventually landed and from that perspective in 1989 when this book was published reminds us that this could happen again (something that would in a similar fashion albeit not that severe in 2008). An interesting read if you can keep up with it and an important book some 30 years after it was first published.

[Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic, engaging look at this seminal year and the events leading up to it. What goes up must come down, but nobody believed that was true in the '20s. People still live and act as though it is not true today, with events like the dot com bubble, housing market bubble, and cryptocurrency failures as markers. Klingaman writes in a style that makes you feel "right there" and as events sweep toward their inevitable, inexorable crash in October, it is impossibly gripping. I feel that I understand current events better and especially my grandparents' generation better after reading this work.

[John Albers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book covering the stock market crash in 1929, going into detail of the events leading up to the crash, and what happened afterward. There are also related stories of the events not directly to the market crash that were influenced by them; prohibition, the election of 1928, and events in India, Germany, Britain and Russia. The book was also the basis for one of the episodes of the PBS series The American Experience.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A curiously familiar book, as the mix of public gullibility, investor optimism, Wall Street con games and lax regulation combined to create an environment in which millions of investors held millions of dollars (on paper) in stocks, mostly bought on credit, a massive pyramid that overnight went sliding down to dust. Klingaman also looks at various famous faces during that year, from FDR to President Hoover to the Marx Brothers to JP Morgan. A good job, probably 3.5 stars.

[Susan Mazur Stommen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novelistic. Takes a year and looks at it from various character perspectives. We have Silent Cal playing pranks on his Secret Service and rocking on the front porch of the White House. Harpo Marx hanging with the Algonquin Round Table set while Grouch worries about his investments. Sprinkles of Will Rogers, who is told by Bernard Baruch to pay off his debts and hang tight.

[Gisselle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good, readable history book on that year, which not only looked at the economic scene leading up to the crash, but also American culture and how it was influenced by the boom and bust. The author focuses on certain well-known figures to great effect, and it didn't drag or get boring.