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1929

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What to expect

A #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2025

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2025 IN THE Financial Times, Economist, New Statesman, Bloomberg, TIME, Washington Post and The New York Times

A spellbinding narrative of the most infamous stock market crash in history one with ripple effects that still shape our society today

In 1929, the world watched in shock as the unstoppable Wall Street bull market went into a freefall, wiping out fortunes and igniting a depression that would reshape a generation. But behind the flashing ticker tapes and panicked traders, another drama unfolded—one of visionaries and fraudsters, titans and dreamers, euphoria and ruin.

With unparalleled access to historical records and newly uncovered documents, New York Times bestselling author Andrew Ross Sorkin takes readers inside the chaos of the crash, behind the scenes of a raging battle between Wall Street and Washington and the larger-than-life characters whose ambition and naivety in an endless boom led to wreckage. The dizzying highs and brutal lows of this era eerily mirror today’s world—where markets soar, political tensions mount, and the fight over financial influence plays out once again.

This is not just a story about money. 1929 is a tale of power, psychology, and the seductive illusion that “this time is different.” It’s about disregarded alarm bells, financiers who fell from grace, and skeptics who saw the crash coming—only to be dismissed until it was too late.

Hailed as a landmark book, Too Big to Fail reimagined how financial crises are told. Now, with 1929, Sorkin delivers an immersive, electrifying account of the most pivotal market collapse of all time—with lessons that remain as urgent as ever. More than just a history, 1929 is a crucial blueprint for understanding the cycles of speculation, the forces that drive financial upheaval, and the warning signs we ignore at our peril.

'Superb... brings the great drama to life' Martin Wolf, Financial Times

© Andrew Ross Sorkin 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critics Review

Sorkin's vivid and forensic account . . . is a real eye-opener . . . a work of true scholarship, the fruits of eight years of research by Sorkin drawing on an extensive array of materials, including personal correspondence and unpublished papers whose details have been woven into the story of the Great Crash for the first time. 1929 will have a distinct place within the Great Crash/Depression genre, just as did Too Big to Fail and for the same reasons—a people’s tragedy told through the lens of the leading players and their personalities, friends and families
Financial Times
Totally fascinating, chilling... this is a fastidiously composed and gripping account of greed and ego versus accountability and responsibility colliding
Chris Evans
Mr. Sorkin wisely tells this sprawling story in a focused way, reconstructing how crucial figures experienced the ructions almost hour by hour . . . Mr. Sorkin’s coverage of the crisis in 2008 was based on hundreds of interviews, but most of the people in this tale have been dead for decades. You would be forgiven for forgetting it. The combination of extensive research and a lively tone makes both the crash and the men involved feel more recent
Economist
In 1929 Andrew Ross Sorkin brings the drama of the crash to a high pitch. He has consulted weather reports, diaries, architectural records and every newspaper imaginable to create a vivid and historically accurate account of the boom, crash, and aftermath. Although Mr. Sorkin offers hints that the crash looms larger in our memory than it did in the moment, his focus is on portraying the lives of the people who lived through it. It is one of the best narrative histories I’ve read
The Wall Street Journal
Vivid, pacy, a gallery of finely drawn pen portraits... shows how delusion, myopia and greed led to financial disaster... [Sorkin] reconstructs a Wall Street that is at once a period piece and familiar setting
The Times
An absolutely riveting & illuminating account of the '29 market crash, one that clarifies many misinterpretations & has deep resonance today
David Grann, New York Times bestselling author
Groundbreaking... Whereas Galbraith saw the crash through the lens of economics, Sorkin comes at it as a scoop-driven storytelling business journalist, of which he is one of the best. Having written the definitive fly-on-the-wall account of the financial crisis of 2008, Too Big to Fail, and co-created the hit hedge fund television melodrama Billions, Sorkin is again strong on character, drama and narrative, bringing events and long-dead personalities to life in all their complexity and colour
Observer
One of my books of 2025... a character-led study of the events leading up to the Great Crash
New Statesman
I am absolutely loving 1929... He writes things so brilliantly, he writes it like a page turner and its absolutely fascinating… it’s an extraordinary story.
The Rest is Entertainment
It would be tempting to say that among bestselling American financial authors, Andrew Ross Sorkin is the new Michael Lewis . . . 1929 is an epic exercise in bringing history to life through its big characters. Like Too Big to Fail it will be labelled ‘definitive’—and deservedly so
Spears

User Reviews

Book 4.0
Narration 4.0
Author Andrew Ross Sorkin
Narrator Andrew Ross Sorkin
Duration 13 hours and 31 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781837311019
Format Audiobook
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Genre Economic and financial crises and disasters, Economic history, History of the Americas, Investment and securities
Availability AU, GB, IE
Rating
4.0 (1 review)
Narration
4.0 (1 review)

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