Check out this archival copy of New Yorker Magazine. "Ten Survivors of Wall Street Crash" "Three years ago this man was making 90,000 today he is making sandwiches" http://books.google.com/books?id=6OgCAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=&f=true Pictures of former traders making 90K in the 70s now making 5K a year working at restaurants etc.. Doom and gloom, Hayden Stone collapse etc.. I recommend you read and get reminded that this shit happens every few decades. Same shit different decade. Of course anyone who started acquiring high quality equity during that decade made out nicely.
More goodies. "The Hedge Fund, Wall Streets new way to make money" New Yorker Magazine, October 21, 1968 (last year of gogo market) Anyone remember the "Glamour stocks" The equivalent of the Dot Coms of the 90s ie Polaroid and those new fangled computer leasing companies, etc.. Anyhow here it is check it out, its free. http://books.google.com/books?id=CeECAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=&f=false "When Peter Landau was reporting his story on hedge funds a man called him up with $30 million to invest"
Here's a classic: http://www.thestreet.com/story/891820/the-winners-of-the-new-world.html If you had invested a million dollars on Cramer's most bullish portfolio ever, you'd have about $7,370 right now.
Seven steps to gain control of General Motor. "Leverage was the hottest new term in wall street" and it mentions the whole Leasco/Chemical bank mess. This is the Pinnacle of the Go Go years. http://books.google.com/books?id=DeECAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=&f=false
I would like to note back then you had your debentures and scamsters playing games right before the crash. And using the Media to pump up stocks or cause them to drop in price. Now you have your players using CDS's and the media etc.. to play with the markets. Things always repeat in cycles using different tools but same end results.