Black Monday: The Catastrophe of October 19, 1987 ... and Beyond

by Tim Metz

Presents a thorough financial report on the events leading up to the 1988 stock crash, its aftermath, and the reverberations of the catastrophe on Wall Street and around the world

Genres: Economics, Business, History

264 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1988

Reviews

[Monzenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great account of the 1987 crash, in particular a microscopic look. In particular, I liked the coverage of how the Wall Street Journal chose to cover the 1987 crash, and in contrast to the New York Times. Of course, the perspectives of the banks, the government, the brokers, and the small investors are all great, and that final story of tragedy was also quite notable. I always like a multi-pronged financial story done right.

[Adam G · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very in depth look at the events described in the title line. Metz runs the risk of losing the reader in the dense web of financial transaction data he provides. It's almost a specialist volume.

[m · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned about this good book via a short excerpt in Panic: The Story of Modern Financial Insanity (2008).

Metz tells the story of the Crash from multiple perspectives: WSJ reporters & editors, NYSE-based traders and executives, a CME-based S&P 500 futures trader.

This book offers good, specific information about what transpired in those days.

At book's end (p. 251) Metz concludes that the selloff was halted by a coordinated effort of government & exchange officials:

The question is, whether, after repeated failures, Phelan and the specialists finally succeeded in pulling the Dow out of its nosedive with the advance knowledge and tacit approval of the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the White House. To this observer of the day's incredible events—and the explanations to be offered for them—the answer to this central question inescapably is yes. Yet, far from answering that question, the major studies of the stock market crash will not even raise it. It will seem a decision has been made at the highest levels that, even in America, some questions are best not asked. [My emphasis.]