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Every Man A Speculator
A History Of Wall Street In American Life
by Steve Fraser

Every Man A Speculator reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 80 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
N/A out of 10
based on 15 reviews
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Fraser's epic-length book chronicles not the history of the actual Manhattan street, but of America's attitudes toward what Wall Street represents--chronicling two centuries worth of American capitalism and financial markets in the process.

HarperCollins, 752 pages
02/01/2005
$29.95

ISBN: 0066620481

Nonfiction
Business & Professional
History

NOTES:
Also known as "Wall Street" in the UK.

What The Critics Said

All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...

The Nation Mike Wallace
Fascinating.... Though the title suggests a focus on financial affairs, it belongs on the shortlist of books that encompass and illuminate the entire trajectory of the American experience.
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Booklist David Siegfried
Fraser gives a thorough analysis of this scandal-ridden menagerie as reflected in books, movies, and the political arena. [15 Dec 2004, p.696]
Kirkus Reviews
Comprehensive, considered, and literate: a real accomplishment. [1 Dec 2004, p.1130]
Library Journal Richard Drezen
This scholarly and entertaining encyclopedic history documents an important part of U.S. business history. [1 Mar 2005, p.96]
Publishers Weekly
Almost every page contains wildly mixed metaphors and other excesses of enthusiasm over clarity, but Fraser tells a monumental story with real energy. [3 Jan 2005, p.46]
Christian Science Monitor Carlos Lozada
Thoroughly researched and compelling.
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Los Angeles Times Jeff Madrick
Fraser's detailed book would have benefited from tighter organization, but its accumulation of information is fascinating. [6 Feb 2005, p.R3]
San Francisco Chronicle Tom Gallagher
[A] work of tremendous erudition.
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The New York Times Book Review Harold Evans
Fraser... has a keen grasp of his material, and his vivacious style and historical perspective carry us through the tumults.
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Daily Telegraph Raymond Seitz
The inevitable discursiveness of this long survey is relieved by Fraser's punchy prose.
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Daily Telegraph Martin Vander Weyer
He is certainly eloquent, and skilful at weaving diverse material into a coherent narrative.
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The Guardian Larry Elliott
What could easily be a dry narrative is brought to life by drawing on the work of the writers, poets, dramatists, musicians and film-makers who have found Wall Street's violent mood swings between irrational exuberance and dark despair, the apparent contradiction of a society simultaneously wedded to both God and Mammon, and the murky activities of those quite happy to gull the innocent, all endlessly fascinating.
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The Independent Eric Homberger
It is hard to image a more thoughtful, and urgent, book than Fraser's picture of a nation willingly seduced by greed.
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Washington Post Paul Blustein
In the process of telling this sprawling tale, he sometimes goes on too long, and his attempt to draw sweeping conclusions about America's changed character is strained. But his prose is elegant, and his eye for historical detail is keen, carrying the reader through the many sagas that he entertainingly recounts.
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The New Republic Jackson Lears
Every Man a Speculator demonstrates that the writing of American history does not have to be blandly celebratory to be accessible and forceful. Fraser certainly offers a bracing alternative to the bromides of Stephen Ambrose and David McCullough.
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