The Go-Go Years

The Go-Go Years

"The Go-Go Years is not to be read in the usual manner ofWall Street classics. You do not read this book to see our presentsituation reenacted in the past, with only the names changed. Youread it because it is a wonderful description of the way thingswere in a different time and place."
--From the Foreword by Michael Lewis

The Go-Go Years is the harrowing and humorous story ofthe growth stocks of the 1960s and how their meteoric rise caused amultitude of small investors to thrive until the devastating marketcrashes in the 1970s. It was a time when greed drove the market andfast money was being made and lost as the "go-go" stocks surged andplunged. Included are the stories of such high-profilepersonalities as H. Ross Perot who lost $450 million in one day,Saul Steinberg's attempt to take over Chemical Bank, and the fallof America's "Last Gatsby," Eddie Gilbert.

Praise for The Go-Go Years

"Those for whom the stock market is mostly a spectator sportwill relish the book's verve, color, and memorableone-liners."
--New York Review of Books

"Please don't take The Go-Go Years too much for granted:as effortlessly as it seems to fly, it is nonetheless an unusuallycomplex and thoughtful work of social history."
--New York Times

"Brooks's great contribution is his synthesis of all theelements that made the 1960s the most volatile in Wall Streethistory . and making so much material easily digestible for theuninitiated."
--Publishers Weekly

"Brooks ... is about the only writer around who combines athorough knowledge of finance with the ability to perceive behindthe dance of numbers 'high, pure, moral melodrama on the themes ofpossession, domination, and belonging.'"
--TimeDie 60er Jahre waren die spekulativste Ära der Wall Street. Diese Jahre waren geprägt von Wachstum und Performance (Wertentwicklung). In diesem stürmischen Umfeld war die Schar der Kleinanleger sehr erfolgreich und ihre Zahl wuchs ständig; die verheerenden Crashs der 70er Jahre jedoch setzten dieser Entwicklung ein jähes Ende. Brooks hat eine Chronik dieser Ära verfaßt - eine abenteuerliche und humorvolle Geschichte mit einer Mischung aus solider Reportage nach Art der New York Times und dem lockeren Erzählstil des New Yorker. Hier lernt der Leser so nebenbei alles über die Boomjahre der 60er und die Kurseinbrüche der 70er, wobei er als Anleger daran erinnert wird, daß die Wall Street von jeher ein Quell von Hoffnung, Chaos und Übertreibung ist. (09/99)

Foreword vii

I Climax: The Day Henry Ross Perot Lost $450 Million 1

II Fair Exchange: The Year the Amex Delisted the Old Guard Romans 26

III The Last Gatsby: Recessional for Edward M Gilbert 55

IV Palmy Days and Low Rumblings: Early Warnings Along Wall Street 81

V Northern Exposure: Early Warnings Along Bay Street 104

VI The Birth of Go-Go: The Rise of a Proper Chinese Bostonian 127

VII The Conglomerateurs: Corporate Chutzpah and Creative Accounting 150

VIII The Enormous Back Room: Drugs, Fails, and Chaos Among the Clerks 182

IX Go-Go at High Noon: The View from Trinity Church 206

X Confrontation: Steinberg/Leasco vs Renchard/Chemical Bank 227

XI Revelry Before Waterloo: The Time of the Great Garbage Market 260

XII The 1970 Crash: To the Edge of the Abyss 291

XIII Saving Graces: The Invisible Samaritans of Wall Street 311

XIV The Go-Go Years 348

Notes on Sources 358

Index 364

JOHN BROOKS was an award-winning New Yorker staff writer and author of several critically acclaimed explorations of business and Wall Street, including Once in Golconda (a Wiley Investment Classic), The Games Players, Business Adventures, and The Fate of the Edsel. The Go-Go Years "The Go-Go Years is not to be read in the usual manner of Wall Street classics. You do not read this book to see our present situation reenacted in the past, with only the names changed. You read it because it is a wonderful description of the way things were in a different time and place." -From the Foreword by Michael Lewis The Go-Go Years is the harrowing and humorous story of the growth stocks of the 1960s and how their meteoric rise caused a multitude of small investors to thrive until the devastating market crashes in the 1970s. It was a time when greed drove the market and fast money was being made and lost as the "go-go" stocks surged and plunged. Included are the stories of such high-profile personalities as H. Ross Perot who lost $450 million in one day, Saul Steinberg's attempt to take over Chemical Bank, and the fall of America's "Last Gatsby, " Eddie Gilbert. Praise for The Go-Go Years "Those for whom the stock market is mostly a spectator sport will relish the book's verve, color, and memorable one-liners." -New York Review of Books "Please don't take The Go-Go Years too much for granted: as effortlessly as it seems to fly, it is nonetheless an unusually complex and thoughtful work of social history." -New York Times "Brooks's great contribution is his synthesis of all the elements that made the 1960s the most volatile in Wall Street history . and making so much material easily digestible for the uninitiated." -Publishers Weekly "Brooks . is about the only writer around who combines a thorough knowledge of finance with the ability to perceive behind the dance of numbers 'high, pure, moral melodrama on the themes of possession, domination, and belonging.'" -Time