Structure

This book is arranged into an introduction and eight chapters. The chapters are broadly chronological, from the creation of Wall Street during the colonial era through the 2008 economic crisis to current political debates and regulatory questions. Throughout the book, the author shifts between recounting historical events and making explicit arguments about the importance of Wall Street, the origin of its flaws, and the value of various proposed solutions. Earlier chapters are more factual, focusing on the details of the early financial system and historical events with which the reader may not be familiar. As he approaches the current day, Cohan devotes more space to his arguments, assuming that the reader has more familiarity with events of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. He also assumes that the reader has some basic understanding of financial services and products, such as stocks and bonds. Though he briefly describes each of...