The Gold Ring: Jim Fisk, Jay Gould, and Black Friday, 1869

This was an interesting book which discussed the abuses in the world of investing during the Grant presidency. I found myself skimming some chapters as the book was longer and more detailed than necessary for my liking.

While Black Friday is mentioned in texts and courses, this shows the greed of these men and how they could without guile could line their own pockets without regard to the consequences of their actions.I will no longer brag about the family story that my great grandfather was a playmate of Gould!

It reveals what happens when capitalism and bribery are loose in America.Ackerman develops real characters in Gould,Fiske and how they influenced finance and politics.

their tricks! This is an in depth study of the times--economic, political, and social--when Jim Fisk and Jay Gould flourished in bribery, dishonest investments, and all sorts of criminal activity. It's an entertaining and interesting book.

Read this book years ago and reread recently---really enjoyed the plot and the scheming even if the failure was a forgone conclusion.

This tells the history of an interesting gold market corner and of some wild days in Wall Street. A very enjoyable and well written book.

It did not capture my interest. Although I love history, I did not connect with this book. It was slow reading.

My observation of this event is simply if you made it up your listeners would tell you that your story is not believable.