1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History--and How It Shattered a Nation

The events of 1929 demonstrate how deeply financial crises are shaped by human emotion—optimism, denial, fear, and memory's fragility. The stock market crash was not just a mechanical breakdown, but a psychological collapse driven by speculation disguised as progress and by confidence elevated to religion. The belief that prosperity was unstoppable blinded a nation to obvious warning signs. When the illusion shattered, economic devastation followed, sweeping away fortunes, institutions, and reputations.

The legacy of 1929 reminds us that no system is immune to the consequences of human excess. Regulations can slow temptation, but they cannot erase it. True safety lies in humility—recognizing that progress is not permanent, markets are not infallible, and history repeats when forgotten. The story is both a tragedy and a warning: whenever society assumes it has outsmarted uncertainty, it is preparing to fall the hardest.

Andrew Ross Sorkin is an award-winning financial journalist, bestselling author, and prominent commentator on the intersection of Wall Street and public policy. He writes a regular column for the The New York Times and is the founder and Editor-at-Large of its influential daily financial newsletter, DealBook, which he launched in 2001.

In addition to print journalism, Sorkin is a familiar face on television: he serves as co-anchor of CNBC’s flagship morning show, Squawk Box, where he regularly interviews the business leaders, policymakers and entrepreneurs shaping the global economy. 

Sorkin’s first major nonfiction book, Too Big to Fail (2009), chronicles the 2008 financial crisis from the vantage point of both Wall Street power brokers and Washington regulators. It was shortlisted for major awards and spent several months on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Known for marrying deep investigative research with narrative flair, Sorkin combines access to key figures in finance with a journalist’s eye for story-telling. In doing so, he illuminates the human motivations, institutional dynamics and regulatory failures behind major economic events. With his latest work—an immersive account of the 1929 crash—he continues to bring historical and contemporary financial collapse into sharper focus. 

Sorkin holds a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Cornell University. He began his career early, interning at The New York Times while still in high school and publishing dozens of articles before finishing college. 

Beyond his writing and broadcasting, he played a foundational role in shaping financial journalism’s transition into the digital era through DealBook, and has been active in creating narratives that cross into television and film. His work frequently explores the convergence of high finance, regulatory oversight and moral responsibility—a recurring lens through which he views market crises. 

In short, Andrew Ross Sorkin is a leading voice on how markets, power, regulation and human choices intersect. His reporting and books are widely read not just by financial professionals, but by anyone seeking to understand why booms happen, how crashes unfold—and what they reveal about the society behind them.