A 'New' Old Book: "Fifty Years in Wall Street"

Here's a book that fans of "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator" should enjoy: "Fifty Years in Wall Street" by Henry Clews. I saw this book in the bookstore this morning. It has an interesting, er, story -- it's been out of print forever but Victor Niederhoffer had a copy of the older (and extremely expensive) edition. He lent it to somebody at Wiley who quickly decided that the book needed to be republished. They cut it down from its original 1,000 pages to something more manageable (384 pages) in this day & age of ADD. :-) It's now part of Wiley's Investment Classic Series. So to complete my unpaid advertising for Wiley, here's the description of the book (from Amazon.com):

Book Description The definitive look at Wall Street in the 19th Century

Perhaps the 19th century's best book on Wall Street, Fifty Years in Wall Street provides a fascinating look at the financial markets during a period of rapid economic expansion. Henry Clews was a giant figure in finance at that time, and his firsthand account brings this colorful era to life like never before. He reveals shocking stories of political and economic manipulation and how he helped bring down the mighty Boss Tweed. He writes eloquently about the madness of the markets and how the era's greatest speculators amassed their fortunes. This book provides an expansive view of Wall Street in an era of little regulation, rampant political corruption, and rapid financial change.

Henry Clews was born in England in 1836 and emigrated to the United States in 1850. In 1859, he cofounded what became the second largest marketer of federal bonds during the Civil War. Later, he organized the "Committee of 70," which deposed the corrupt Tweed Ring in New York City, and served as an economic consultant to President Ulysses Grant.

From the Back Cover

Author Henry Clews was a giant figure in finance during the late nineteenth century, and his firsthand account brings this colorful era to life like never before. This abridged version of an investment classic touches on a wide range of important financial issues, including:

* The causes and consequences of Wall Street panics
* The influence of Wall Street on national politics
* How individuals like Jay Gould, Daniel Drew, and Commodore Vanderbilt made their fortunes
* The characteristics of winning and losing speculators
* How operators attempted to corner the markets for individual stocks

I've added it to my way-too-long list of books to read. I'll get to it one of these years...