Investing in U.S. Financial History: Understanding the Past to Forecast the Future

I found this book to be a masterful and engaging chronicle that bridges the gap between academic rigor and accessible storytelling. As someone who had limited knowledge of U.S. financial developments between the nation’s founding and the Great Depression, I found this book to be an eye-opening and enriching experience. Higgins manages to cover over two centuries of financial evolution with remarkable clarity and conciseness. The book’s sweeping arc never feels overwhelming, thanks to the author’s ability to distill complex events into digestible narratives. His treatment of the First and Second Banks of the United States and the transformative impact of the railroads is particularly compelling—those chapters alone are worth the price of admission. What sets this book apart is its blend of macroeconomic analysis with vivid anecdotes. Stories about figures like Hetty Green and J.P. Morgan add a human dimension to the financial milestones, making the history feel alive and relevant. I was especially struck by how much I learned about these personalities and their influence on the financial landscape. While the book offers a thorough exploration of early U.S. financial history, its coverage of more recent decades is understandably brisk. This isn’t a flaw so much as an invitation—perhaps a second volume could delve deeper into the post-WWII era and beyond. The section on the Second World War economy is solid, providing adequate context without getting bogged down in minutiae. It serves as a useful bridge to the modern financial system, even if it leaves the reader wanting more detail. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in how America’s financial system came to be. It’s informative, engaging, and—most importantly—makes history feel relevant to today’s economic challenges.

Although the title of the book alludes to the evolution of investing as an activity throughout US Financial History, I feel that the time spent reading this book is also an investment that unlocks a deeper understanding and appreciation for the financial markets. Starting from the birth of the country and the financial system till the COVID-19 pandemic and it’s effects on the economy, the book crisply flows through the various eras that defined the country. It is an unbiased retelling of the various manias, the after effects and the reforms that followed, expressed through the eyes and context of that time-period. The author manages to express the prevailing sentiments of that time through the use of quotes and anecdotes from that period, thereby managing to avoid the slightly patronising tone that hindsight sometimes creates. While the clever quotes and point of interest boxes keep you entertained throughout, the extensive notes section that provides the sources for all the information in the book ensures that this book is worth revisiting many times. I urge every one who is interested in creating a successful career in finance or financial services to grab a copy of this book and read it from cover to cover because as the saying goes - ‘Those who do not learn history are bound to repeat it.’

A very informative book about the history of capital in our capitalistic past. It reveals how economics and politics have both advanced and corrupted each other in the past 250 years of America. It shows how fragile our system really is, and how luck has sometimes been responsible for the continuation of our republic. This reader is not so sure how much longer our luck will last. But, I hope the optimism expressed by Mark does bear out.

Few finance books will remain relevant for years after they have been published. Investing in US Financial History will certainly be included in this list. It shocks me that, prior to Mark Higgins, no one had ever truly put pen to paper and walked through the entire financial history of the US dating back to Alexander Hamilton. Many of the stories written hold relevance and echo themes of today, although many are long forgotten to even advanced practitioners. The research conducted to put this together is incredibly thorough and provides a wealth of knowledge for today's investors. One important lesson that the book leaves you with is the understanding that many financial events or concerns echo multiple periods in history. By providing a one-stop book to learn about all of those major events plus documentation for further reading, the reader walks away with a greater understanding of the world they live in and how it came to be. I will certainly be reading this book multiple times. If there are ever future editions, I'll absolutely add them to my shelf, especially considering all the underlining I ended up doing in the current version. This book is simply invaluable!

Amazing book for getting up to speed on US financial history. Highly recommend