The go-go years

The 1960s was one of Wall Street's most speculative eras.

These were the years of growth and performance - of gunslingers, the youth revolution, mutual funds, new-issue stocks, creative accounting, Chinese money, and the conglomerates.

In this tumultuous environment, the multitudes of small investors thrived and multiplied only later to diminish in the devastating market crashes of the 1970s.

In his book, Brooks chronicles this era while educating readers about the take-off growth sprees of Wall Street's 1960s and the crashes of the 1970s, reminding today's investors that Wall Street has always been a source of hope, havoc, and hyperbole.