1929

Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History—and How It Shattered a Nation

De: Andrew Ross Sorkin

Narrado por: Andrew Ross Sorkin

“It is one of the best narrative histories I’ve read.”—Judge Glock, The Wall Street Journal

Named a Most Anticipated Book by New York Times Books Review, TIME, Washington Post, Associated Press, Town & Country, New York Post, and more

From the bestselling author of Too Big to Fail, “the definitive history of the 2008 banking crisis,” (The Atlantic) comes a riveting narrative of the most infamous stock market crash in history—one with ripple effects that still shape our society today.

In 1929, the world watched in shock as the unstoppable Wall Street bull market went into a freefall, wiping out fortunes and igniting a depression that would reshape a generation. But behind the flashing ticker tapes and panicked traders, another drama unfolded—one of visionaries and fraudsters, titans and dreamers, euphoria and ruin.

With unparalleled access to historical records and newly uncovered documents, New York Times bestselling author Andrew Ross Sorkin takes listeners inside the chaos of the crash, behind the scenes of a raging battle between Wall Street and Washington and the larger-than-life characters whose ambition and naivete in an endless boom led to disaster. The dizzying highs and brutal lows of this era eerily mirror today’s world—where markets soar, political tensions mount, and the fight over financial influence plays out once again.

This is not just a story about money. 1929 is a tale of power, psychology, and the seductive illusion that this time is different. It’s about disregarded alarm bells, financiers who fell from grace, and skeptics who saw the crash coming—only to be dismissed until it was too late.

Hailed as a landmark book, Too Big to Fail reimagined how financial crises are told. Now, with 1929, Sorkin delivers an immersive, electrifying account of the most pivotal market collapse of all time—with lessons that remain as urgent as ever. More than just a history, 1929 is a crucial blueprint for understanding the cycles of speculation, the forces that drive financial upheaval, and the warning signs we ignore at our peril.

©2025 Andrew Ross Sorkin (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“In 1929 Andrew Ross Sorkin brings the drama of the crash to a high pitch. He has consulted weather reports, diaries, architectural records and every newspaper imaginable to create a vivid and historically accurate account of the boom, crash, and aftermath. Although Mr. Sorkin offers hints that the crash looms larger in our memory than it did in the moment, his focus is on portraying the lives of the people who lived through it. It is one of the best narrative histories I’ve read.”—Judge Glock, The Wall Street Journal

“Sorkin's vivid and forensic account . . . is a real eye-opener . . . a work of true scholarship, the fruits of eight years of research by Sorkin drawing on an extensive array of materials, including personal correspondence and unpublished papers whose details have been woven into the story of the Great Crash for the first time. 1929 will have a distinct place within the Great Crash/Depression genre, just as did Too Big to Fail and for the same reasons—a people’s tragedy told through the lens of the leading players and their personalities, friends and families.”—The Financial Times

“Andrew Ross Sorkin has done it again. 1929 is mesmerizing from beginning to end—a deeply important book. Like Too Big to Fail, it’s a masterclass in narrative nonfiction, a dazzling tale of a pivotal moment in history brought to life through meticulous reporting. The colorful characters, the politics, the financial mania—it all unfolds with eerie relevance. You feel like you’re reading about today. I was blown away.”—Walter Isaacson, New York Times bestselling author of Steve Jobs and Benjamin Franklin

Book quality.

Kind of drops off toward the end. Needed more content, say another year of content and research.

Amazing book! Everyone should read it!

Great reading about the history of the 1929 Great Depression financial crisis which tends to repeat itself over time 2008, and a reminder to everyone that the higher we clime, the harder we fall, so be humble.

Amazing Book

Enjoyed it. Could not stop listening. Finished it in three days. Now I want to listen to his other book, too big to fail.

Nice job, Andrew!

For most of us, the 1929 Stock Market crash was somehow and mysteriously the cause of the Great Depression. Outside scholars and historians, the details of both those separate events are unknown beyond the broadest of strikes. Sorkin’s written narrative is an outstanding source of detail explaining the crash. And his personal reading of it, allowing an author to emphasize, slow down, speak faster to match his own written story, was just perfect.

Great story teller.

Great book. I learned a lot of new information that seems important and relatable today.

Amazing story

This book is actually a time machine that takes you back to 1929 and a few years after. The research is phenomenal, and the story reads like the kind of fiction where you can't stop reading. So many characters and events and all explained in a way that even a guy like me (I've never balanced a check book in my life) understood what was going on.

The author starts out in March 1929 and tells us what the biggest players of the day (and some of the smallest investors) were doing and saying in that year leading up to the fateful month of October and Black Tuesday. It's mesmerizing, eavesdropping on telephone transcripts and 95-year-old messages written as the panic was happening. One of the amazing events is Winston Churchill was actually at the Exchange the day of the crash and that night all the financiers and bankers had a big dinner in honor of his visit to NYC. And we learn what was said that night and many nights thereafter as people tried to wrap their brains around the biggest crash in financial history.

It's scary how many parallels there are to today. And of course, greed and people who think it can't happen here (now, to me etc) are always with us. Sorkin is a TV veteran and the reading is top-notch.

This is a book you'll never forget. Very highly recommended.

Captivating!

This book serves to set straight the foolishness of surface-level assumptions about the chaos of the crash and following depression of 1929. The character development draws the reader in in a most spectacular way.

Are We Listening?

The lack of trust of federal government and the financial entities of Wall Street along with far too much debt/credit are the common themes pointing to this terrible date in history. Lies, coverup and misinformation at the highest levels led to the downhill spiral that crashed the market and the subsequent Great Depression that lasted for years, all in the name of protecting each other's wealth and power. (Stop me, if your've heard this one before.) If we don't learn, we can't say, we weren't warned. This is a book that fully examines and explains how this happened slowly, quietly and under our exuberant, giddy noses as we listened to those who kept telling us things were great and only getting better and better. As the stealth magician tells us, watch what I'm doing over here, not over there as your money disappears seemingly before your eyes. This did not happen quickly, as many of us believed and there was opportunity after opportunity to stop the carnage for the average American but the cost was too high for Wall Street and Pennsylvania Ave. Mr. Sorkin deserves a medal for opening up the dusty bins and forgotten letters to share with us now, a century later, how these wealthy, powerful privileged men almost ruined this country and what was really going on behind the scenes as they ridiculed the average American for their naiveté with the stock market while publicly proclaiming all is well and grabbing their dollars. This is a wake-up call. I cannot recommend this book enough. Thank you Andrew Ross-Sorkin.

Excellent Explanation of these Events

Understandable approach to a sophisticated Wall Street world. Great narration by Andrew as well. Drives home human nature whether you’re a regular person or a business titan. Thank you.

Masterful telling of the story of the events leading up to and subsequent to the crash of 1929.

Very good descriptions of the many individuals that affected the events of the time. A good telling of the story.