NASDAQ: A History of the Market That Changed the World

As a Nasdaq employee, I enjoyed the book thoroughly. However, I was disappointed with the INCREDIBLE lack of editing. It is fraught with spelling and grammatical errors.

Ingebretsen has that rare ability among writers-the ability to decipher a complicated subject and present it in an entertaining, readable way. Should be required reading for all B-school students, as well as for anyone who wants to know how the markets work and how their trades are executed. I learned a ton reading this.

I thought this was an excellent book. On one level it's a well-written, and fascinating, history of Nasdaq. But beyond that it's a detailed study of the history of stock trading. If you want to know what actually happens when you give an order to your broker to buy 100 shares in Microsoft, or how all these new ECNs work, read this book.

The author has shown a broad capacity for in-depth scholarship in a little known arena. One of the most interesting facets of this work is the initial section concerning the OTC market before the NASDAQ brought about automated trading. As the author explains, in those early days, buying and selling stocks was a little like buying vintage automobile parts. Dealers called each other on the phone. And after locating the stock, they at times didn't even haggle over the price. Rather one dealer would buy the stock from another and simply mark up the price for the customer. Even though this system persisted until the 1970s, hardly any information about it exists, unless you‚re willing to visit the stacks of a large university library. For that reason, I applaud Mr. Ingebretsen's contribution to the research of the long and colorful history of markets and look forward to many more of his insights in his future scholarship.