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The Great Game: The Emergence of Wall Street as a World Power: 1653-2000

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In The Great Game, acclaimed business historian John Steele Gordon chronicles the rise of Wall Street from its humble beginnings as an American trading post to its domination of the world economy, bringing to life the remarkable cast of bankers and brokers, visionaries and crooks who made it happen. From Alexander Hamilton to Michael Milken, the history of Wall Street is a history of risk, courage, avarice, patriotism, power, genius, and, occasionally, remarkable stupidity. In Gordon, Wall Street has finally found a biographer worthy of its extraordinary story.

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

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About the author

John Steele Gordon

24 books44 followers
John Steele Gordon is an American writer who specializes in the history of business and finance. Born and raised in New York City, he graduated from Vanderbilt University.

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5 stars
103 (35%)
4 stars
112 (38%)
3 stars
59 (20%)
2 stars
11 (3%)
1 star
4 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for Adeline Shen.
30 reviews11 followers
September 2, 2019
Definitely worth a re-read and lots of research. great stories and abundant knowledge
Profile Image for Doris Raines.
2,902 reviews18 followers
December 25, 2019
I LIKE THIS BOOK ITS ALL ABOUT THE GAME. CHARGE IT IT TO THE GAME👁
1 review
March 8, 2020
It is a good introduction book for me who knows nothing about how Wall Street grew towards to a World Power
5 reviews
May 4, 2020
Actually I don't realize that this is a history book before I open it.
Profile Image for Yi.
19 reviews
November 2, 2020
实在有点看不进。。暂且弃了
169 reviews6 followers
March 18, 2021
Colorful and entertaining overview of the evolution of Wall Street pre-1980s. Along with stories, jokes, personalities and events, provided brief descriptions of why they happened.

1 review
August 8, 2022
A brief introduction to wall street and all its unknown stories, very enjoyable reading.
Profile Image for Brian.
Author 15 books129 followers
September 2, 2016
Helpful and comparatively well-written history of the Wall Street, from the days when it was Da Waalstraat on which slaves were told to before the 2008 crisis. I can't say I understood all the economic terms or what exactly was going on, but he's really giving an effort to careful explanation. He's also a neocon who thinks the market can regulate itself, but that sometimes some regulation is necessary, and at the very least if you're not an anarchist, you have to admit that justice of exchange is something the government does need to look into.
13 reviews3 followers
July 10, 2010
Should have known not to expect "great" writing from Wall St. The stories are many and entertaining, but easy to forget. I liked the first chapter the best - gave historical perspective by giving credit to the Dutch for founding NYC and breathing that seafaring cosmopolitanism into it. Even more reason to love New York.
27 reviews
December 31, 2008
Decent review of the history of Wall Street, up to 2000 that is. The strongest part of the book was in describing the early origins of Wall Street.
6 reviews
August 17, 2012
Epic book for Wall street history. some financial book author is conspiracy theorist, Gordon keep himself neutral. The Great Game is the best alternative to know about Wall Street.
Profile Image for Gerry.
246 reviews37 followers
October 8, 2013
An amazing story of Wall Street and the history to 2000 AD. The author does a great job tying events and history together.
146 reviews1 follower
October 5, 2020
Great and very readable account of emergence of Wall Street as a center of capitalism.
43 reviews13 followers
July 7, 2020
历史故事,偏流水账。不过揭示了很多不为人所知的恩怨。我读的版本不好,感觉内容有删节,原文可能更加真实。
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews

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