A History of the United States in Five Crashes

Stock Market Meltdowns That Defined a Nation

By: Scott Nations

Narrated by: Christopher Grove

Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

In this absorbing, smart, and accessible blend of economic and cultural history in the vein of the works of Michael Lewis and Andrew Ross Sorkin, a financial executive and CNBC contributor examines the five most significant stock market crashes in the United States over the past century, revealing how they have defined the nation today.

The Panic of 1907; Black Tuesday (1929); Black Monday (1987); the Great Recession (2008); the Flash Crash (2010): Each of these financial implosions that caused a catastrophic drop in the American stock market is a remarkable story in its own right. But taken together, they offer a unique financial history of the American century. In A History of the United States in Five Crashes, financial executive and CNBC contributor Scott Nations examines these precipitous dips, revealing how each played a role in America's political and cultural fabric, one building upon the next to create the nation we know today.

Scott Nations identifies the factors behind the disastrous runs on banks that led to the Panic of 1907, the first great scare of the 20th century. He explains why 1920s America adopted investment trusts - a practice that helped post-World War I Britain - and how they were a primary catalyst of the 1929 crash. He explores America's love affair with an expanding stock market in the 1980s - which spawned the birth of portfolio insurance that significantly contributed to the 1987 crash. And he examines the factors that led to the 2008 global meltdown and the rise of algorithmic trading, the modern financial technology that sparked the 2010 Flash Crash when American stocks lost a trillion dollars in minutes.

A History of the United States in Five Crashes clearly and compellingly illustrates the connections between these financial collapses and examines the solid, clear-cut lessons they offer for preventing the next one.

©2017 Scott Nations (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Best financial book I’ve ever read

When you read this book you feel like you are traveling back in time to all 5 market crashes. It’s like watching an action movie. Very informative!

Excellent analysis

I enjoyed this program. History always repeats itself. So the information is valuable to us traders.

best market/economic summary yet

Not technical but also not uselessly high level. great summary and reminders of the different crashes and aspects of them.

Great listen, very informative

Great listen, learn a lot from this book! Performance wasn’t my favorite, but the substance was big

“Too much greed, too little safety”

This book nails it perfectly by stating “Too much greed, too little safety” (...is in the core of the financial and overall economy system).

Now the question is, how many people took time to read this book and what lessons learned and takeaways in their day to day lives do they apply?

This time is different seems to be frequent attitude.
So how is really this time?

Great book !!

I really liked the book as it keeps reader always curious in the next set of events and really like some of the things like when speed and complexity competes speed always wins which is the reason for the last two crashes.

Enjoyable narrative and well researched

4.5 of 5 stars.

I would recommend this book for anyone interested in historic financial crashes without wanting a deep knowledge of those events. The author does a great job of crafting an accessible narrative which describes major events leading up to their ultimate respective meltdowns without being pedantic. While the reader may have a cursory knowledge of the events described, each of the 5 major crashes digs down a couple layers to secondary events which are less known and interesting.

The reader does a solid job for the material.

A must read for every individual

I highly recommend that every individual whether they have a financial background or a total communist, with a liberal arts background, must read this book, so that they understand the very mechanics that conspire and create the five Market crashes. That way, both the left, the right and the center have a valid understanding of how the stock market behaves, crests, and fails.

in so understanding, we have a common and understood platform from which, we can then begin a common discussion of how to resolve the current inequalities of wealth.

A Favorite

As a huge economics and history nerd this is one of my favorite books. re-listened several times a great premise, well performed by narrator, remains very relevant. I expect an update to include March 2020.

A Fantastic Look At the United $tate$ - Riveting

Well, good thing it is digital because I would have worn out an LP by now! The narration is excellent, the story and the perspective are relatable to the "everyman". I listen to parts of this book over and over again each week. I never get bored and, like watching my favorite movie repeatedly, I realize something about the story that I did not understand before!

If you like having the "mysteries" of Wall Street and the U.S.A. financial system de-mystified at your leisure, this is the book for you!!!!