In It Was a Very Good Year, investment authority Martin S. Fridson probes the reasons behind the stock market's spectacular performance during each of the twentieth century's ten best years.

In his quest for clues, the author scoured back issues of the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, Fortune, and Forbes, as well as obscure periodicals such as Munsey's Magazine and the Magazine of Wall Street. We are rewarded by being privy to the contemporary reactions of investors, economists, bankers, politicians, and other prominent people on the scene.

It Was a Very Good Year is rich in historical anecdotes and colorful personalities. Beyond the strategies of investment legends such as J.P. Morgan and Bernard Baruch, we are treated to the investment thinking of such diverse figures as Ty Cobb, Walter Winchell, and Charlie Chaplin, among others. Wars, depressions, interest rate fluctuations, rising markets in gold, oil, real estate, and bonds are all seen in their respective roles.

At the same time, Fridson highlights cyclical events and recurring themes that may provide keys to identifying exceptional investment opportunities in the future.