Street of dreams and nightmares

Wall Street: A Cultural History, by Steve Fraser, Faber & Faber, €36.

Wall Street: A Cultural History, by Steve Fraser, Faber & Faber, €36.

Americans have always been alert to the harsh realities of business. At the height of the Depression in the 1930s, a new board game appeared in the shops and rapidly became a massive best seller. As real-life capitalism seemed to be going down the tubes, Monopoly offered people a make-believe version that allowed them to fantasise about striking it rich. But ...