Wall Street: America's Dream Palace (Icons of America) (Hardcover)

by Steve Fraser (Author)
Key Phrases: Wall Street, The Aristocrat, The Immoralist (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Fraser, historian and author, reviews the complicated love-hate relationship between Americans and the financial markets by using Wall Street as the symbol of money and its power. By identifying four personality types that reappear throughout history, he explores more than 200 years of struggle between wealth and work, democracy and elitism, and greed and salvation. These types include the “pretentious aristocrat,” from the 1792 speculator who was jailed for causing the first crash, to Michael Milken, who was jailed  in the 1980s for speculation in junk bonds. Fraser’s “wily confidence-man” category with numerous names tells us that such individuals are ever present in a market society. The “imperial heroes” include Cornelius Vanderbilt and “Jubilee Jim” Fisk—the latter identified as “the Donald Trump of the nineteenth century.” The “immoralist,” the sinner category, includes the Gilded Age’s Jay Gould and the “cascade of financial scandals beginning with Enron.” This is an excellent book that traces the history of Wall Street through those who shaped it, for better or for worse. --Mary Whaley

Review
"This book is written with Fraser's customary panache and scrupulous attention to detail. If you're after a fascinating take on one of our ultimate icons, this is it."-Mike Wallace, John Jay College (CUNY), co-author of Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 (Mike Wallace 20080415)

"Provides a rich historical context from which to reflect on the purpose and morality of our financial markets."-Robert Shiller, author of Irrational Exuberance (Robert Shiller )

"I don''t know of a better book about Wall Street''s hold on the American imagination. Were it to be listed as a stock on the New York exchange, I''d bet on the quadrupling of its price in the first day''s trading."-Lewis Lapham (Lewis Lapham )

"In his delightfully written, sweeping history Wall Street, [Fraser] shows how . . . citizens react to the ups and downs of the business cycles and the towering figures who dominated each era."-David D''Alessandro, Toronto Globe & Mail (David D'Alessandro Toronto Globe & Mail )

"In this age of agitated amnesiacs, Americans have forgotten that nothing is new-that in other times money and power were forged into a conspiracy against the public. Steve Fraser connects vividly to that past, reminding us that this present financial crisis is not the first time our hearts have been broken by Wall Street peddlers of the American Dream."-Bill Moyers (Bill Moyers )

"Fraser is almost lyrical as he weaves together his tale of how the image of Wall Street fits into American culture and mythology."-Library Journal (Library Journal )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (April 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300117558
• ISBN-13: 978-0300117554
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #370,520 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched and elegantly written history of the Street, July 15, 2008

By	Paul Tognetti "The real world is so much more... (Cranston, RI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

There are few institutions in America that evoke such strong emotions among the general public. For over two centuries most Americans have viewed the goings on on Wall Street with a very jaundiced eye....and with very good reason. From the Gilded Age to the dot.com boom of the 1990's the way business was conducted on Wall Street would have an enormous impact of the lives of farmers, factory workers and shopkeepers across this nation. Author Steve Fraser has managed to capture the essence of this love-hate relationship with the Street in his marvelous new book "Wall Street: America's Dream Palace".
For those who know little about the origins of Wall Street Steve Fraser presents a brief history in his Introduction to get us all up to speed.
Interestingly enough, this book has only four chapters, each scrutinizing the roles of what Fraser considers to be four iconic Wall Street types including the aristocrat, the confidence man, the hero and the immoralist. In each chapter, Fraser presents vivid portraits of those legendary individuals who for better or for worse have made their mark in the world of high finance. Fraser spotlights such diverse charactors as J.P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Charles Ponzi and Michael Milken to name but a few. Fraser also discusses at some length how the dot.com boom lured many Americans into the stock market for the very first time and how so many of us were burned by the unscrupulous actions of con men like Michael Milken, corporations like Enron and WorldCom, as well as by a variety of unsavory speculators and day traders.
Overall I found "Wall Street: America's Dream Palace" to be an extremely informative and highly enjoyable read. I enjoy writers with outstanding vocabularies and Steve Fraser can turn a phrase with the best of them.
Lots of great information packed into this terrific little book. Highly recommended!

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wall Street, June 4, 2008

By	Deborah Tannenbaum - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Wonderful, thorough history of the banking industry and Wall Street since the inception of this country. A must read!
Debb

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enormously Informative, June 21, 2008

By	Robert H. Burroughs (Rhinebeck NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Steve Fraser has a wonderful, crisp style that moves your eye
along the page and onto the next. This is one of those rare
non-fiction books you wish were longer.