Over six terrifying, desperate days in October 1929, the fabulous fortune that Americans had built in stocks plunged with a fervor never seen before. At first, the drop seemed like a mistake, a mere glitch in the system. But as the decline gathered steam, so did the destruction. Over twenty-five billion dollars in individual wealth was lost, vanished, gone. People watched their dreams fade before their very eyes. Investing in the stock market would never be the same.

Here, Wall Street Journal bureau chief Karen Blumenthal chronicles the six-day period that brought the country to its knees, from fascinating tales of key stock-market players, like Michael J. Meehan, an immigrant who started his career hustling cigars outside theaters and helped convince thousands to gamble their hard-earned money as never before, to riveting accounts of the power struggles between Wall Street and Washington, to poignant stories from those who lost their savings--and more--to the allure of stocks and the power of greed.

For young readers living in an era of stock-market fascination, this engrossing account explains stock-market fundamentals while bringing to life the darkest days of the mammoth crash of 1929.

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Inventor. Visionary. Genius. Dropout. Adopted. Steve Jobs was the founder of Apple and he was all of these things.

Steve Jobs has been described as a showman, artist, tyrant, genius, jerk. Through his life he was loved, hated, admired and dismissed, yet he was a living legend; the genius who founded Apple in his parent's garage when he was just 21 years-old, revolutionising the music world. He single-handedly introduced the first computer that could sit on your desk and founded and nurtured a company called Pixar bringing to life Oscar wining animations Toy Story and Finding Nemo.

So how did the man, who was neither engineer nor computer geek change the world we live in, making us want every product he touched?

On graduation day in 2005, a fifty-year-old Steve Jobs said: 'Today I want to tell you three stories from my life, That's it. Just three stories'. The first story is about connecting the dots. My second story is about love and loss. My third story is about death.

This is his story...

Critically acclaimed author Karen Blumenthal takes us to the core of this complicated and legendary man, from his adoption and early years through to the pinnacles of his career, his dismissal from his duties at Apple (for being too disruptive and difficult) to the graduation where he gave the commencement speech just 6 years before his death, giving life to what were soon to become some of most amous quotes of his career, ending with the message: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you."

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."

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Three years after the economic meltdown began, many of us are still reeling from its devastating effects. Maybe you're among the millions of homeowners who fell behind on their mortgages or you lost your home to foreclosure. Maybe you lost your job and have struggled to find a new one, meanwhile struggling with a drastically reduced income. Or perhaps you're one of the roughly 1.5 million Americans filing each year for bankruptcy.
Or maybe you emerged from the meltdown relatively unscathed, but you've been recently divorced or widowed. Now, along with all the other accompanying emotional hardships, you must deal with a household budget that is dramatically changed. Maybe you experienced an unexpected health crisis that drained your savings or retirement account. Or perhaps you've simply grown tired of having so much debt.

As tough as these situations are, they aren’t hopeless.. You have options. When the old \ rules for managing your finances no longer apply, you can take control of your situation, wipe the slate clean, and start over.
Here, in the accessible, empathetic, and easy-to-understand style the Wall Street Journal Guidebook series is known for, veteran WSJ personal finance reporter Karen Blumenthal walks you through everything you need to know to leave the past behind you and get your financial life back on track. This includes how to:

-Build a trusted team of professionals to help you navigate your new financial landscape
-Get yor credit record - the support beam of your financial scaffolding - back in order
-Recalibrate your budget and weigh your big ticket expenses
-Determine whether you can afford to stay in your home
-Adjust your debts to your new situation
-Assess your health coverage and other necessary insurance
-Invest for your future retirement and other needs
-Craft a sustainable plan for long-term financial health

Whether you're recently divorced or widowed, or have declared bankruptcy or lost your home to foreclosure, or simply want to start with a clean slate, you can make a fresh financial start. Covering housing, insurance, health care, investing, debt, taxes, wills, and more, this book shows readers at all life stages and income levels how to adapt and adjust their finances to their new circumstances and get on the path to a better financial life.



From the Trade Paperback edition....

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Your Road to Lifelong Financial Independence

It's about time you felt empowered to better manage your money because-in tough economic times more than ever-your financial freedom depends on making smart choices. But it's hard to know where to begin, especially when you're just starting out. And of course, it only gets more complicated as you go through life: How do you establish good credit? Do you buy or rent? What kinds of health coverage do you really need? How do you actually stay afloat in an uncertain market?

The Wall Street Journal Guide to Starting Your Financial Life gets you off on the right financial foot, from tackling everyday choices like cell-phone plans and pet ownership to big decisions such as smart investment strategies and buying a car or a house. You'll learn:

- How to open your first checking and savings accounts, get your first credit card, and establish good credit
- The ins and outs of starting a job, including information about taxes, choosing health insurance options, and saving for retirement
- How to budget for big purchases and expenses, such as paying off student loans, buying a car, and affording your housing
- Strategies for buying the little things you want and need without going broke
- The basics of investing, how to manage an inheritance, and the documents you need to protect your assets

This valuable resource puts you in the driver's seat, so you will be in control of your money and on yor way to achieving lifelong financial independence across any economic terrain.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

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Karen Blumenthal, like most people, is mystified by the stock market. Just why is it, she wonders, that seemingly good news can send a stock plummeting and bad news can send it skyrocketing again?

In Grande Expectations, she shows how money is made and lost by following one of America's hottest growth stocks, Starbucks, through a year of rapid store openings, fancy new drinks, and clever promotions, revealing how the many players--big and small investors, company management, analysts, and the media--propel its shares up and down.

Blumenthal pulls back the curtain on the stock market to expose its quirks and inner workings, from the power of a penny of earnings and the unexpected impact of a stock split to the image-enhancing effects of a brand of bottled water. With a fly-on-the-wall, character-driven narrative, Grande Expectations not only makes investing interesting but also will help you make smarter and savvier investing choices by:

-Understanding how big pension and mutual fund managers decide whether to buy more Starbucks--or dump it

-Seeing the unique ways that analysts and other finance professionals assess an investment--dissecting not only the numbers but also the company's management, demographics, and global opportunities

-Learning how Starbucks executives manage our expectations and keep excitement percolating about the business--and the stock

-Watching how a stock is traded and how that might affect your uying or selling

-Gleaning how multibillion-dollar private hedge funds make money on infinitesimal changes in a stock's price

-Entering the dark, strange world of the short sellers

-Realizing how different people can make absolutely opposite bets and all still come out ahead

You'll come away with new insights into how the stock market really works--the power of expectations, stock buybacks, and profits--and explore Starbucks' phenomenal growth and whether it is sustainable. By unraveling the market's mysteries, Grande Expectations shows how investing can be both profitable and understandable. Get ready for the ride of your life--and a lifetime of fruitful stock market success.


From the Hardcover edition....

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Ein kompliziertes Genie, das die Einfachheit liebte: Steve Jobs - Querdenker, Visionär und Gründer von Apple. Wie konnte dieser Mann, der weder Ingenieur noch Computerfreak war, unsere digitale Welt so beeinflussen, dass wir uns nach jedem seiner Produkte verzehren? Kompakt und anschaulich erzählt Karen Blumenthal das aussergewöhnliche Leben eines begnadeten Erfinders, der mit seinem mitreissenden und kompromisslosen Führungsstil Apple an die Spitze gebracht und gleichzeitig das Produktdesign einer ganzen Epoche geprägt hat. Blumenthals reich illustriertes Buch ist die faszinierende Biographie eines modernen Technik-Pioniers und zugleich ein überraschender Blick hinter die Kulissen der Computerindustrie. Ein Lesevergnügen ersten Ranges - nicht nur für Apple-Enthusiasten.

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