The story begins with the Dutch settlement on Manhattan Island, a rogue state blossoming in the midst of religious English colonies. From there, the reader sees the progression of New York as a financial center through the engineering of the canal and railway, dominating both Boston and Philadelphia. Next, the importance of the stock market is solidified through the seemingly innocent actions of individuals in their monetary pursuits. Subsequently, the plot thickens to include the wa

The multitude of players that use the stock market to their advantage, abiding to the laissez-faire ideology are thoroughly elaborated upon. Likewise, the assortment of names and relationships are inclined to confuse the reader and obscure the focus away from the actual event. Since it is not a study or treatise of the stock market itself nor its related financial products, the reader is expected to have an admirable knowledge of stock market vocabulary and knowledge prior to the book, as no definitions nor terms are justly defined by Gordon. The lack of definitions further extends the idea of Wall Street as a flourishing personality and Gordon¡¦s captivating writing style that induces the reader to conclude the book feeling as thought they¡¦ve just been introduced to a fascinating person rather than two centuries of American history.

Through an extensive collection of anecdotes, The Great Game offers a very human and personal evaluation of Wall Street¡¦s developmental processes. Alexander Hamilton, one of the ¡§founding fathers¡¨ (p.30) of the United States, was a pioneer in economic policy. Owing to Gordon¡¦s description, Hamilton is brought to life as he transforms the United States from economic disarray to an established government with ¡§a dependable revenue stream¡¨ (p.31) and a national banking system. Gordon manages to weave the sequence of Hamilton¡¦s achievements and his overall impact on America into an intricate web detailing everything from the government solvency to the gradual additions of the brokerage business. The various financial geniuses after Hamilton are given equal treatment, every name mentioned in relation to Wall Street is found to be assigned a brief biography signifying his or her role to the making of the Street. From Frederick Philipse, a man who

Some topics in this essay:
Wall Street, Owing Gordon¡¦s, Vanderbilt Gould, Boston Philadelphia, William Durant, Financial Chronicle, Steele Gordon, Manhattan Island, Wall Street¡¦s, wall street, Greene Vanderbilt, stock market, railroad company, wall street¡¦s, john steele,