Six Days in October: The Stock Market Crash of 1929: A Wall Street Journal Book for Children (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "WORD SPREAD QUICKLY on this crisp fall morning: Stocks were in big trouble..." (more)
Key Phrases: Wall Street, General Motors, President Hoover (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This fast-paced, gripping (and all-too-timely) account of the market crash of October 1929 puts a human face on the crisis. Blumenthal, the Dallas bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal, sets the scene in the affluent post-Great War society: she reproduces the famous January 1929 cartoon from Forbes magazine (a frenetic crowd grasping at a ticker tape) and her statement "Executives who had spent their lives building solid reputations cut secret deals in pursuit of their own stock-market riches" may send a shiver down the spines of older readers aware of recent corporate scandals. The author deciphers market terms such as bull and bear, stock and bond in lucidly worded sidebars and describes the convergence of speculation, optimism and greed that primed the market for failure. Throughout, Blumenthal relates the impact of historical developments on everyday citizens. Supported by archival photographs, cartoons and documents, the text is rife with atmospheric detail about the customs of the stock exchange (from buttonhole flowers to the opening and closing gongs). Other asides, such as the first appearance of women on the exchange floor, or the rise (and fall) of immigrant Michael J. Meehan, who championed the stock of Radio Corporation, continue to keep the focus on the human element. Blumenthal ably chronicles the six-day descent and exposes the personalities, backroom machinations and scandals while debunking several popular myths about the crash (e.g., that it caused mass suicide and the Great Depression). A compelling portrait of a defining moment in American history. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-12. A Wall Street Journal bureau chief, Blumenthal combines a fascinating overview of the infamous stock market crash in 1929 with a rare and useful primer of financial basics. The chapters follow the six days surrounding the crash, but Blumenthal deftly places the events in context with vivid accounts of the stock-market fever that preceded the crash, often showing the impact of abstract issues through individual stories--the losses of Groucho Marx and of General Motors' founder William Durant are particularly astonishing. Rapid, simply constructed sentences increase the drama and suspense while making difficult concepts easily understood. Throughout, fact boxes define financial vocabulary--stocks, bonds, bulls and bears, margins, the measure of a company's worth, and more--in clear language that is both compelling and instructive. Archival images--photos, cartoons, and reproduced documents--enhance the text, as do frequent excerpts from newspapers and political quotes from the era. Students using this for research may be frustrated by the source citations, which appear as an appended, generalized chapter-by-chapter listing of materials consulted rather than as specific notes that correspond to text passages. But this still offers a riveting history, along with the basic terminology needed to grasp the events and to draw parallels between the volatile, sometimes corrupt, market of 1929 and the market today. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum; 1st edition (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689842767
• ISBN-13: 978-0689842764
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #481,635 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Non-fiction that is not boring, August 30, 2003

A Kid's Review

This was a great book that I loved reading. I am into history and this book gave lots of details about the stock market crash that made it easy to understand. I think lots of kids will like this book if they give it a chance.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb - and it explains the stock market in detail!, February 25, 2009

By	Grandma "Robin" (NH, USA) - See all my reviews

If you've ever struggled to either understand or explain the stock market, Six Days in October will make things crystal clear while simultaneously explaining the stock market crash of 1929 that brought about the Great Depression in an engaging way that holds the reader's attention.

Loaded with period illustrations, including primary documents, Six Days in October is vital to the middle school study of the 20th century and is a wonderful addition to any library intended for young adults.

Highly Recommended!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great book that's very informative and easy reading., July 15, 2005

By	Robert Louis Watson Jr. "kd4bxj" (Huntsville, AL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a great book for understanding the causes and effects of the 1929 Stock Market Crash. This book not only answered all my questions about the crash, but it supplied me with a detailed account of the events that led up to the market crash and the aftermath that followed. It illustrates how greed, fear, ignorance, and deceit fueled the market crash. In addition, it dispels the myth that the 1929 Stock Market Crash caused the Great Depression. Because these same elements continue to influence the market today, it would be to one's advantage to learn about the crash before investing in the market. This book is for ages 12 and above.