The Plungers and the Peacocks by Dana L. Thomas (1989, Hardcover, Revised)

This is an excellent publication a history buff will enjoy reading when one is curious but not familiar with a detailed history of Wall Street. Read about the causes of the Great Depression in detail--a report I have never read or had an inkling about before. (Short selling killed the Golden Goose in 1929.) One will also see financiers of old like the Morgans and Vanderbilts in a different perspective. Also read about the movers and shakers of the stock market of old working in anonymity below the surface--some very dark and influential people. It's a book that's hard to put down. The author's writing is colorful and dynamic; it presents trivial details about Wall Street's leading characters in an entertaining and concise manner. The author does a good job balancing the good and the bad of The Street from its early days to the present. I'm glad it's part of my own library.