Book excerpt: "Early in 2000, the Nasdaq stock market surpassed 5,000, the highest level in its 30-year history. Experts yelled, "Buy!" Pundits predicted the Nasdaq's value would surpass that of the Dow Jones. Blue chips were dead. Tech was in. And everybody seemed to be making money." "Then, the bottom fell out." "Since then, the Nasdaq has taken investors on a rollercoaster ride full of exuberant peaks and heartbreaking valleys, floundering around lows that haven't been seen in years. Wealth was accumulated, and then it vanished. Companies sprang up, then folded. Lives and livelihoods were changed forever. But it wasn't the first time." "The full history of the Nasdaq teems with boom-and-bust stories. What started as a Depression-era organization designed to combat stock market fraud - and struggled for decades as the black sheep of Wall Street - is now vying with the venerated New York Stock Exchange as the global icon of corporate wealth and success. Today, it faces new challenges in a murky and unpredictable economy."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved