History doesn't usually interest me at all but there's something special in these kinds of cataclysmic events where wealth is instantly annihilated and new opportunities are created.Actually the 1929 had many black business days besides the one called black friday: the stock exchange collapsed on (black) Thusday 24th of October 1929. This caused a panic sale of shares. More than 4 billion dollars were lost till the evening. Shorting of stocks was the primary reason for the panic sales. Any kind of a man could get easy and almost free money from the bank and invest into shares. The next (black) Tuesday got it's name because the short selling got really wild after the monday's slight rebound. 14 billion dollars worth of financial wealth disappeared in a day.
In those days the word "billion" had a different echo in it's meaning. It used to be serious money. Now US is throwing billions around by thousands!
btw. this is a very good book on value based investing: http://www.amazon.com/Security-Analysis ... 0070244960 The book also covers the financial history of roaring twenties pretty well.